{"id":103851,"date":"2026-01-03T00:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T00:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/103851\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T00:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T00:22:08","slug":"canadians-are-still-staying-away-from-florida-but-tourism-increased-overall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/103851\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadians are still staying away from Florida, but tourism increased overall"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Credit: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Florida posted a slight increase in tourism during the third quarter of 2025 from a year earlier, even as Canadians continued to back off on travel to the U.S.<\/p>\n

Visit Florida estimated 34.339 million people traveled to the state between the start of July and end of September, up from 34.239 million during the same period in 2024, according to figures posted Wednesday on the state tourism-marketing agency\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew data just released from @VisitFlorida shows tourism in Florida for Q3 2025 exceeded Q3 2024,\u201d Visit Florida President and CEO Bryan Griffin posted on X. \u201c2024 was a record-breaking year for Florida, & tourism saved each of Florida\u2019s households an estimated $2,000 in taxes that (year). We\u2019re looking forward to a strong 2026. Happy New Year!\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s total was the most for a third quarter \u2014 generally considered one of the slower periods for Florida \u2014 since 2022, when the marketing agency was hyper-focused on drawing people from other states because of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

People from other states accounted for 31.448 million visitors during this year\u2019s third quarter, up from 31.373 million during the third quarter of 2024.<\/p>\n

According to Travel and Tour World magazine, Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and the Florida Keys are among the top national destinations, drawing more domestic travelers through \u201cluxury, family-friendly attractions, and year-round appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, 2.343 million overseas travelers visited Florida during the quarter, up from 2.27 million in 2024. This year was the best third-quarter for overseas visitors since 2019, the year before the pandemic, when an estimated 2.5 million overseas travelers made their way to Florida.<\/p>\n

Florida, however, continued to struggle to attract Canadian visitors amid tensions between the U.S. and Canada. Visit Florida estimated the state had 507,000 Canadian visitors during the quarter, down from 597,000 in the third quarter of 2024. The total is also the lowest for any quarter since the fourth quarter of 2021, when just 275,000 Canadians made their way to Florida.<\/p>\n

Before the pandemic the third-quarter high for Canadians was 703,000 visitors in 2019.<\/p>\n

During the first nine months of 2025, Florida totaled 109.782 million visitors, 0.1 percent more than in the same period of 2024. Domestic travel was up 0.1 percent, overseas travel increased 4.5 percent, while Canadian travel was down 15.5 percent.<\/p>\n

Canadians have been canceling vacations in the U.S. because of President Donald Trump\u2019s rhetoric and tariffs aimed toward their country, and it didn\u2019t appear the trend was changing as the fourth quarter started.<\/p>\n

Statistic Canada, the nation\u2019s statistical office, said last week that U.S. residents traveling to Canada in October was up 3 percent from a year earlier, yet Canadian-residents crossing the border was down 26.3 percent year over year. Meanwhile, Canada saw overseas visitors increase 11.7 percent in the same month-to-month comparison, with Canadians traveling overseas up 9.1 percent.<\/p>\n

Gov. Ron DeSantis has recommended legislators maintain funding at $80 million for Visit Florida in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, which will start July 1. Lawmakers will consider the request during the legislative session that will start Jan. 13.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

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