tourism

Tourism in Florida is growing, though the increases are held back by Canadians continuing to stay away from the Sunshine State. About a half million fewer may have visited the state last year.

Visit Florida reports a slight increase between July and September despite fewer Canadian tourists amid tensions between the countries.

Proponents argue the bill would increase tourism and business investment, while detractor balked at the high costs of a name change.

If the Broward delegation fails to approve the bill, it will not be heard by lawmakers in Tallahassee once the legislative session begins in January.

A small drop in international visitors to Miami-Dade County was driven by declines in trips from Colombia and Canada. Visits from New York and Chicago – the top two cities for visitors from other states – also fell.

Jamaica’s peak tourism season is one month away, and officials in the hurricane-ravaged nation are rushing to rebuild from the catastrophic Category 5 storm that shredded the island’s western region.

Tourism is growing statewide, but air travel has slowed at South Florida's two major airports after record years. One reason is that fewer Canadians are coming. But cruise passengers continue crowding PortMiami and Port Everglades, while hotel tourism tax collection remains strong.

Visit Florida estimated 2.295 million overseas travelers during the quarter this year, an 11.4% jump from the same period in 2024. But the estimated 640,000 Canadian visitors to Florida during the quarter marked a 20%drop from 2024.

Over 28 million people visited the county in 2024 — one in five tourists to Florida spent some of their trip in Miami-Dade. But a slowing global economy and growing uncertainty from changes in trade and immigration enforcement by the Trump administration is expected to hit tourism this year.

On The Florida Roundup, host Tom Hudson spoke with Rolando Aedo with the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau about potential implications of altering tourist development taxes.

The city of Fort Lauderdale announced Wednesday its law enforcement plan for this spring break season, which includes tripling the amount of officers on patrol and beach sweeps with police mounted on horseback.

The S.S. United States, the largest passenger ship ever built in America, left Philadelphia under tow on Wednesday, eventually to be sunk off the Gulf Coast.