Florida Real Estate, Tourism and Immigration News

According to the latest numbers from Visit Florida, the state’s publicly subsidized tourism-advertising agency, an estimated 80.3 million people visited Florida in 2009.

These are initial counts and show a slight drop of just 0.8 percent from 2008.

2010 could be different, but the last two years have remained strong despite the general world-wide economic conditions. Visit Florida reported that visitors are spending less while here but this creates a silver lining for short term rental owners as more visitors opt for rental homes over hotels.

Other Visit Florida statistics;

* 18.1 million people came to the Sunshine State during the fourth quarter of 2009.

* About 20 million visited in the 3rd quarter of 2009

* They (Visit Florida) also began using a new methodology to count visitors and revised its original total for 2008 from 82.5 million visitors to 80.9 million – still just an incredible amount of visitors when you think about it.

If you already own a home here and you are considering short or long term renting the home, or if you are considering buying a home (anywhere in Florida) please use one of our contact options below – The British Homes Group

We are located on the NW Corner of 535 and US highway 192 above the Edwin Watts Golf Shop and across the road from the Publix super market. Please feel free to visit anytime Monday through Friday, 9 – 5pm.

Our local number is: (+1) 407 396 9914

Our Email Address: Info@BritishHomesGroup.com

Quick Contact Request

 http://www.britishhomesgroup.com/contactus.php

Customised Property Search Request

http://www.britishhomesgroup.com/floridaproperty.php

Travel to Florida fell in 2007, according to a state estimate released Friday, amid suggestions that many American travelers may have chosen to vacation closer to home.

Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-advertising agency, said 82.4 million travelers visited Florida last year, down 1.8 percent from 83.9 million in 2006.

The 1.5 million drop was attributed to fewer drivers, as non-air arrivals to the state fell 5.5 percent to 39 million. Arrivals by air rose 2 percent to 43.4 million. Another bright spot: Intrastate travel rose 7.3 percent to more than 13.9 million.

Visit Florida President and Chief Executive Officer Bud Nocera said it is possible higher gasoline prices are deterring vacationers from traveling too far afield by car.

Geographically, domestic travel to Florida slipped 2.1 percent to about 76 million last year. The number of overseas visitors, who are particularly coveted by the tourism industry because they stay longer and spend more, remained essentially flat at 4.1 million.

Canadian visitors rose sharply, jumping 10.2 percent to 2.3 million travelers. Visit Florida attributed the increase to the rise of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar.

Visit Florida hopes the 2007 slide in travel will help persuade Florida lawmakers to give the organization $43.4 million in public money this spring to spend on tourism advertising!

We’ll keep you posted if the budget is approved.