South Florida Enjoying Record Tourism Numbers

Two of the most well-known holiday destinations in Florida, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, have announced that they experienced strong tourism growth over the winter months with hotel occupancy in Fort Lauderdale alone reaching 75% in January this year. The news, which was revealed by the both Fort Lauderdale and Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, shows that Florida has become a very attractive destination for travellers, say ulookubook.com.

Ian Raine of ulookubook.com, comments: “Florida has always been a popular holiday choice with travellers, and tourism in both Fort Lauderdale and Miami has increased dramatically, compared to the figures from last year. According to the authorities in Fort Lauderdale, the hotel occupancy of 75% in January this year was 27% higher than it was in January 2010, and the total amount of passenger traffic at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport had increased by 5.1% year-on year. The results are simply staggering, as they show that more people are choosing to travel to Florida, specifically South Florida, on holiday.”

In Miami, the GMCVB have revealed that 12.6 million people visited Miami-Dade County last year, and spent $18.8 million, making it a record year for tourism in the area. Similarly, in 2010, 10.84 million people visited Fort Lauderdale, where they spent just over $8 million, which shows that tourist demand for South Florida is growing.

Raine continues: “Last year was truly an exceptional year for tourism in Florida, in fact the figure of 12.6 million tourists is the highest number ever recorded in Miami. These numbers are very impressive, but when it comes to air traffic, international travellers have risen dramatically, with an increase of 16.3% in the number of foreign travellers travelling to and from Fort Lauderdale in January this year alone, which represents the 17th consecutive month of air traffic growth for the airport. These figures show that Florida is still a popular holiday destination, and judging by its growth over the past year, it could very well become more popular in 2011.”

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