EVOLVE Business and Entrepreneur Magazine First Coast Region - October 2021 | Page 44

TOURISM IS VITAL TO FLORIDA

TOURISM IS FLORIDA ’ S TOP ECONOMIC DRIVER

In 2019 , out-of-state visitors added
$ 96.5 BILLION
to Florida ’ s economy . That ’ s more than the entire GDP of 13 states .
Source : Rockport Analytics , Bureau of Economic Analysis
131.4 MILLION VISITORS
came to Florida in 2019 , a 10th consecutive year of record visitation .
VISIT FLORIDA marketing drives
out-of-state visitors to all of Florida ’ s
67 COUNTIES .
FLORIDA TOURISM IS GROWING FASTER THAN ...
THE U . S . ECONOMY , CONSUMER SPENDING , HEALTH CARE SPENDING , & SPENDING ON RECREATION . Source : Rockport Analytics , Bureau of Economic Analysis

VISIT FLORIDA IS A SMART INVESTMENT

According to the Florida Legislature ’ s Chief Economist ,
every $ 1 invested in VISIT FLORIDA yields a
$ 3.27 RETURN
on investment to Florida ’ s taxpayers .
People exposed to VISIT FLORIDA ’ s digital advertising in 2019 were
TWICE AS LIKELY to visit Florida and had a more favorable view of the state .
Source : Arrivalist , OmniTrak
Every 81 VISITORS = one Florida Job .
293 NEW HOTELS ( 39,149 ROOMS ) & 9,500 + NEW RESTAURANTS opened from 2015 to July 2019 . Source : STR and DBPR Division of Hotels & Restaurants
Bed taxes in RURAL COUNTIES have grown nearly
50 % FASTER than URBAN COUNTIES since 2012 .
Source : Florida Department of Revenue

TOURISM KEEPS FLORIDA ’ S TAXES LOW

According to the Florida Legislature ’ s Chief Economist ,
tourism accounted for
15 % or more than $ 3.8 BILLION
of total state sales tax collections .
Visitors save every Florida household more than
$ 1,500 / YEAR
on state and local taxes . Source : Rockport Analytics , Census Bureau
Credit : visitflorida . org
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