tourism

To spread the word about limiting the spread of coronavirus, the Florida Keys tourism agency is turning to some famous faces — one in particular: Ernest Hemingway.

Florida took in $3.27 for every dollar the state spent on tourism marketing over a three-year period, before cuts in funding for the agency and before COVID-19 sent the travel and leisure industries into a tailspin, according to the report released Monday by the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research.

Data from the Census Bureau paint a grim picture of the pandemic’s impact on the economy. According to the bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, 26% of Floridians reported being late on rent, worse than the US average, while 12% reported not having enough to eat.

Bars and alcohol sales in Key West will close at 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve and through the weekend. A federal judge Tuesday denied a challenge from a resident who said the curfew violated his Constitutional rights.

Florida’s tourism industry is showing signs of recovery. But it’s not expected to reach pre-pandemic levels for another year.

Florida’s tourism industry is showing signs of recovery. But it’s not expected to reach pre-pandemic levels for another year.

The Destinations Florida study indicated that businesses in October were having fewer problems finding supplies than in June. The research for Destinations Florida, an association of local tourism promotion organizations, also found a slight uptick in people planning Florida trips.

Short- and long-term outlooks from a panel known as the Florida Economic Estimating Conference indicate people, mostly from other states, could travel to Florida in close to pre-coronavirus pandemic numbers in 2022.

The estimate of 22.112 million travelers from the start of July to the end of September is significantly below what the state needs from the vital revenue-generating industry, which helps fund the state budget and in good years produces up to 1.5 million jobs.

The federal government has given the go-ahead for cruise ships to sail from ports in the United States. Officials stopped cruise lines in March as the coronavirus pandemic ramped up.

Much of the economy in South Florida relies on tourism — especially the Florida Keys. And that's another way people have been suffering during the coronavirus. The city of Key West has a recovery plan that focuses on both business and humanitarian needs.

Visit Florida forecasts big trouble for the global tourism industry. The group wants the sunshine state to get ahead of that, and local tourism agencies are catering to those itching to travel.