Canada has regained its position as Florida’s top international market – status it officially but briefly lost (to Colombia) during the pandemic. But when borders re-opened, this country quickly regained its typically unassailable position atop Visit Florida’s visitor logs.
“Canada slipped (when the border closed), but you’re still No. 1,” Visit Florida’s VP of Marketing Brett Laiken told Travel Industry Today during a recent interview at the IPW travel trade show in San Antonio Texas.
In 2022, Laiken says 2.79 million Canadians visited the Sunshine State (a not surprising 514% increase over the year prior). And with four million Canada visitors in 2019, he emphasized, “Canada is extremely important to Florida for tourism.”
Overall, Florida welcomed 137.4 million international visitors last year, down 21%, prompting Laiken to observe: “We know that there still recovery to happen internationally, but we’re happy to show that we’re still getting record visitation and we’re doing fantastic, and it will only grow and increase as we continue to see the result of the vaccination restrictions being lifted, and some of the visas being lifted.”
This year, airlift from Canada alone for the summer is up 14%, with 433,000 seats being added from May to July, as well as seven new routes.
According to Visit Florida, that translates to about one in every 10 seats (9.6%) that is US-bound from Canada flying to Florida.
Laiken says the trade remains critical to Visit Florida’s efforts to promote the destination in Canada, noting the organization conducted a mission in March in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal with a trade show and presentations for tour operators and travel counsellors.
“We want to make sure that we are always in Canada and have a presence, whether it’s on PR side, or the travel trade side, it’s an important market – we’re going to be there, we’re going to be visible, we’re going to promote the destination,” he says.
That goes for Visit Florida’s next promotional mandate: to emphasize the adventurous side of the state.
“Everybody knows the Miami’s and Orlando’s of the world, but it’s beyond that. Next year we’re going to be promoting adventure quite a bit,” he explains. “We have over 4,000 miles of multi-use trails, so that’s ‘I want to walk, I want to mountain bike, I want to cycle, road bike.’ We also have over 3,000 miles of water trails for paddling boarding (and) kayaking that go throughout the state – from the northwest Panhandle straight down to the Keys.”
He adds, “that’s something we’re really looking to promote and making sure that the tour operators and the publications are aware that Florida has more than people think about – the diversity is around every corner of the experiences that you can have.”
Some further updates:
On hurricanes
“A lot of things were reported as Florida as a whole, but it was really five counties in the southwest of the state that were impacted significantly and they are doing really well,” says Laiken. “Naples is basically fully recovered (from Hurricane Ian in Sept., 2022), and Fort Myers, the resiliency is something to marvel at… The region is back and we’re as strong as ever… and Canadians believe that and they are wanting to come back. It’s a place they’ve visited, and they want to continue to visit it.”
Brightline Rail
Orlando service will start in September with tickets already for sale, advises the Visit Florida VP. “The great thing for us is that you can be in Miami or West Palm and get up to Orlando in under three hours; it’s a very comfortable ride,” he says. “And on the horizon, we don’t know the dates, but it will eventually go to Tampa and it will really connect Florida by high-speed rail, and we think people are just going to love it. It’s a great experience.”
In conclusion, Laiken says, “The Canadian traveller is super important to Florida. You’re our neighbours to the north that we see as an extension of the state in many ways, and we just look forward to welcoming more Canadians on their holidays.”
Florida trade shows
Meanwhile, Visit Florida has announced that Florida Huddle 2024, the state’s official travel trade show, and MICE-oriented Florida Encounter will now take place concurrently Feb. 4-6, 2024, replacing the July 29-31 dates announced at Florida Huddle and Encounter 2023. The events will still take place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, hosted in partnership with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.