Florida welcomed 1.11 million visitors from the UK last year, according to new data from Visit Florida.
The data, unveiled at Florida Huddle, Florida’s travel trade show held this year in West Palm Beach, also shows that UK visitor numbers are recovering well against pre-pandemic levels.
The UK is the second-largest international source market for the state of Florida after Canada, and while visitors from the UK were down by 17% compared with 2019 numbers, they were up by 696% compared with 2021.
Last year, August was the month that welcomed the highest number of visitors at 144,000, representing 91% of August 2019 numbers.
Visitor numbers to Florida from the UK are also recovering quicker than visitors to the US overall.
The data shows that when consumers were asked about holiday intent, one third said they were considering a holiday to the US. Within this cohort, 51% said they were considering Florida – the second-highest choice of location after New York.
“We never stopped marketing in the UK,” said Dana Young, president and chief executive of Visit Florida, adding: “We were consistently in the market. Our commitment was very clear but as soon as we could get back into the UK we did.”
Brett Laiken, vice-president of marketing for Visit Florida, said: “We are very active in the UK, we actually never stopped in Covid, so we just feel our continued presence is something that has been well received, and it’s given us a bit of a competitive edge.”
Florida welcomed 9.81 million visitors to its shores in 2022, more than double the year before.
Last year, a Michelin guide was created all about Florida for the first time, with restaurants showcased across Miami, Tampa and Orlando. A second edition is due to be published in May.
Next year’s Florida Huddle trade show will take place in Miami from July 29-31, 2024.