Florida welcomes 85 million tourists in the first 9 months of 2016
It’s another record for the Sunshine State, according to Visit Florida.

Florida had 26.9 million visitors from July to September and 85 million during the first nine months of 2016, the most tourists ever.

The news comes as millions of people around the country are get ready to hit the road — and airways — for Thanksgiving. It also comes as some headwinds face the Sunshine State, including potential worries about the Zika virus.

Announcing the numbers on Monday, Scott said Florida was “on pace to reach our goal of 115 million tourists by the end of the year.”

Visit Florida also said that there were 1,241,300 Floridians employed in the tourism industry, up 4.1 percent over the year.

The agency said that of the 26.9 million total tourists in the third quarter, 23.6 million were domestic visitors. That would be a 5.8 percent increase when compared with the same period last year. Estimates also show 2.8 million overseas visitors, reflecting a 0.9 percent increase from 2015. For the nine-month visitation of 85 million, there 73.8 million domestic visitors, a 7 percent increase year over year.

“Today’s announcement shows that the Florida tourism industry has done a tremendous job marketing the state both domestically and internationally during very challenging times,” Will Seccombe, Visit Florida’s CEO, said in a statement. “It also shows that we will have to work even harder as a state and an industry to maintain that growth going forward.”

Florida’s tourism and recreation taxable sales rose 5.4 percent year over year from January through July 2016, the latest reported month. During the third quarter, the average daily room rate — a key measure in the tourism trade — was up 2.9 percent, while the demand in rooms sold grew 2.3 percent and the hotel occupancy rate was up 0.9 percent.

The state’s performance mirrors what’s been going on in Southwest Florida this season.

Last week, Visit Sarasota County announced that in fiscal year 2016, the county collected $20,010,244 in tourist development taxes, a 4.9 percent increase from the previous fiscal year. That also was a record-breaking pace.

Visitors staying in paid lodging hit 1,147,350, a 1.4 percent increase. Both direct expenditures and economic impact increased 3.4 percent, the county’s tourism-marketing agency said.

Herald Tribune, November 17, 2016