Preliminary estimates showing that 31.7 million travelers visited the state, representing an increase of 220 percent over 2020 numbers and a 6 percent increase over 2019 numbers.
"Not only did Florida have more visitors in the second quarter than we did in 2020, but the data shows that domestic visitation has already fully recovered to 2019 levels," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Visit Florida, which serves the state's tourism marketing corporation, credited its marketing campaigns in helping to boost visitor numbers.
In conjunction with AAA Northeast, its created a co-branded, multi-channel campaign promoting Florida to adults 25 and older in key Northeast markets.
"Visit Florida's $150,000 co-investment in the campaign resulted in over $24.5 million in total bookings to Florida, which included $16 million in bookings to Orlando," the organization said.
Visit Florida also joined forces with Allegiant Airlines, American Airlines/American Airline Vacations and United Airlines on three Midwest and Northeast campaigns designed to "keep Florida top of mind and drive bookings to the state when travel resumed."
Its $550,000 investment, "which was matched at least 1:1, helped deliver nearly $1.2 million in media value and over 156.5 million impressions, exceeding estimates by 47.3 percent recovery and positioned Florida as a leading destination for travelers across the U.S.," Visit Florida said.
Allegiant's Florida bookings from Cincinnati, Columbus and Indianapolis increased by an average of 8.6 percent year-over-year; American Airlines' flight Florida increased by 80 percent; American Airline Vacations' package bookings increased by 14.8 percent with a 19.3 percent increase in room nights and 9.3 percent increase in revenue; and the campaign directly resulted in $2.9 million in air sales to Florida for United, the organization said.
"Florida tourism's skyrocketing growth in Q2 2021 is an incredible achievement for our state's economic recovery and underscores the effectiveness of Visit Florida's s marketing," said Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young.
"With Governor DeSantis' support, we have not only helped propel travel well past 2020 levels, but also achieved a 6 percent increase from 2019 domestic visitation.
"Visit Florida remains wholly focused on driving even more results for Florida's tourism economy and showcasing everything our great state has to offer to travelers."
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