Miami-Dade County played host to more tourists in the just-completed fiscal year than it did a year earlier. And the hospitality industry hopes a big line-up of sports events will help boost business in the year ahead.
Total tourism was up 5% thanks to more people from other places in Florida visiting the area. Visits from other states and from overseas provided a drag on growth.
Declines in tourists from Colombia and Canada, especially during the first half of this year, have meant fewer international visitors. Those two countries have been traditional sources of strong tourist traffic.
“ I think we were bracing for a lot worse,” said David Whitaker, CEO for the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. He presented the fiscal year results at the bureau’s annual meeting Thursday.
Colombia tourism fell 11% in the first six months of 2025.
“ We've seen over the last four or five years significant growth in our Colombian overnight visitors,” said Whitaker, noting that Colombian visitors have less of an impact on hotel stays due to the large Colombian diaspora of family and friends in the region.
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South Florida has yet to go through an entire tourism season with the trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada.
President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” instituted a broad array of American tariffs on imported goods. Canadian imports were largely excluded. However, a 35% tariff was slapped on some Canadian imports in August and Trump announced an additional 10% tariff in late October.
Visits from Canadians to Miami-Dade County fell “only” 4%, Whitaker said. “ I think there was great anxiety that maybe it would've been greater,” he said. He thinks a higher-income Canadian travel attracted to South Florida may be less reactive to politics and prices.
Miami-Dade tourism taxes last year increased 3% to almost $400 million.
Hotel rates have been headed higher. The average daily room rate in Miami-Dade County was $251 in the first six months of the year, up 3% from a year earlier. The average revenue per available room, a key metric in the hotel business, also was up 3%.
“ We ended the year with the fourth highest average daily rate in the country And also the fourth highest in supply and demand,” according to Whitaker.
A national college football playoff game, the World Baseball Classic, the NHL Winter Classic and then the FIFA World Cup next summer are expected to help buoy tourism in the months ahead.
Whitaker also hopes an easing of tensions between Trump and Canada will encourage more Canadians to return to South Florida during the winter months.
“It gives us great encouragement with all that's on the calendar for next year with the improving relationships with some of the trade deals that are being announced,” he said. “I think we'll see a trade agreement with Canada. I think we're gonna see a brighter future.”
