Florida Tourism Sees Modest Growth in Q3 2025 Despite Decline in Canadian Visitors
Florida Tourism Sees Modest Growth Amid Declining Canadian Visitors
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s tourism industry experienced a slight uptick in the third quarter of 2025, welcoming approximately 34.339 million visitors, a modest increase from 34.239 million during the same period in 2024. This growth comes despite a notable decline in Canadian travelers, a trend that has raised concerns among industry stakeholders.
According to data released by Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-marketing agency, the third quarter of 2025 marked the highest visitor count since 2022, a year when the agency focused heavily on attracting travelers from other states due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit Florida President and CEO Bryan Griffin celebrated the news on social media, highlighting the economic benefits of tourism, which saved Florida households an estimated $2,000 in taxes last year.
The majority of visitors—31.448 million—came from other states, reflecting a slight increase from 31.373 million in 2024. Popular destinations such as Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and the Florida Keys continue to draw domestic travelers with their luxury offerings and family-friendly attractions.
International travel also saw a boost, with 2.343 million overseas visitors making their way to Florida, up from 2.27 million in 2024. This marks the best third quarter for overseas tourism since 2019, just before the pandemic disrupted global travel.
However, the state faced challenges in attracting Canadian tourists, with only 507,000 visiting in the third quarter, down from 597,000 the previous year. This decline represents the lowest quarterly total since late 2021 and is a stark contrast to the pre-pandemic high of 703,000 Canadian visitors in 2019. The drop has been attributed to ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Canada, including political rhetoric and tariffs that have discouraged travel.
Recent statistics from Canada indicate a growing trend of Canadians opting for overseas vacations instead of traveling to the U.S., with a 26.3% decrease in Canadian residents crossing the border year-over-year.
As Florida looks ahead, Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed maintaining funding for Visit Florida at $80 million for the upcoming fiscal year, a request that will be considered by lawmakers in the legislative session starting January 13.
With a total of 109.782 million visitors recorded in the first nine months of 2025, Florida’s tourism sector remains resilient, but the decline in Canadian visitors poses a challenge that industry leaders will need to address as they prepare for a strong 2026.