Orlando remains the top vacation destination in the U.S.
Visit Orlando announced Thursday that the central Florida hotspot hosted a record 68 million visitors in 2016, easily surpassing the 66 million mark it reached the prior year.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the figures take into account visitors traveling into Florida's Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties whether for a single day trip or a week-long vacation.
Visit Orlando CEO George Aguel attributes the stellar performance to the destination's wide range of attractions.
"Especially with the high repeat amount of visitation, there is a lot more exploring," Aguel told the Sentinel. "I think that's why we are seeing...an increased diversity of folks doing other things...things that people don't think about."
"We're a golfers' mecca. Water sports is huge here. They come for the parks. They come for the shopping...The numbers for shopping in this community are significant."
According to the Sentinel, attendance figures at Orlando International Airport and the Orange County Convention Center were up in 2016, coming in at 41.9 million and 1.46 million, respectively.
Domestic travelers accounted for nine out of every 10 visitors to Orlando last year. The destination will look to lean heavily on U.S. tourists moving forward as foreign visitation is projected to decline in wake of President Trump's travel ban, which is currently in the appeals process.
The Sentinel reported Visit Orlando is ramping up domestic advertising in an effort to make up for any drop in international visitors.
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What makes the city's record mark even more impressive are the numerous and sizable obstacles it had to overcome in 2016, including June's Pulse nightclub shooting, Hurricane Matthew and Zika virus fears.
While Orlando is poised to face new challenges in 2017 new attractions opening this summer, headlined by Universal Orlando's Volcano Bay, are sure to propel the destination closer to its goal of welcoming 70 million people.
Visit Orlando celebrated another record this week, claiming the Guinness World Records title for "most greeting cards collected in 24 hours" as part of a year-long campaign called #OrlandosBIGThankYou. More than 900 members of Orlando's tourism community came together to handwrite 3,144 thank you cards that will be mailed out to visitors whose names are in the Visit Orlando database.
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