Visit Florida

Visit Florida, the state’s tourism agency, has added $1 million to an effort to counter fallout from media coverage of three hurricanes that hit the state this year.

Visit Florida's president and CEO said it's partly due to increased competition from other states and countries that shut down longer than Florida during the pandemic.

International tourism has increased faster in Florida than other parts of the nation but remains below pre-pandemic levels, state tourism officials say.

Visit Florida estimates the state attracted 35 million travelers during the third quarter, a 6.9 percent increase from 2021. The estimate was also 8% above the same period of 2019, before the pandemic.

With the state drawing record numbers of tourists from other parts of the country as the industry rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young received an 8.6% pay boost.

Florida attracted a record number of tourists during the first three months of 2022, surpassing totals from similar quarters before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the hospitality and leisure industry.

The extension of Visit Florida was among 20 bills sent to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday.

The president and CEO of Visit Florida said the agency will continue to expand its marketing efforts and encourage tourists to vacation in Florida this winter.

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.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is backing Visit Florida's decision to encourage in-state tourism. The agency is hoping its new marketing campaign will boost local economies hit hard by the coronavirus.

Visit Florida is launching an advertising campaign aimed at encouraging in-state travel to try to help Florida’s tourism industry recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Visit Florida Board of Directors on Wednesday approved more than $42 million for tourism marketing as part of a $108 million operating budget for next…