The travel industry has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but things are starting to improve in some places.

Due to the pandemic, we’ve seen limits on crowds and capacity due to social distancing requirements and travel restrictions. But, recently many of those limits and restrictions have been removed. We’ve previously shared a look at how Florida tourism was slowly improving. But just what are the numbers looking like now? How many have been traveling to the state? Here’s what we’re seeing.

In August 2021 we shared that Florida had 31.7 million visitors in the second quarter of the year. That was an increase of over 200% during the same time from the previous year. 

During the third quarter of 2021, Florida saw an estimated total of 32.517 million tourists in the state, which actually topped the same time frame in 2019, meaning that Florida saw more visitors in the third quarter of 2021 than at the same time pre-pandemic.

Now, it looks like Florida has continued to top its pre-pandemic totals. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently announced that from October to December, Florida had a total of 30.9 million visitors. This (once again) EXCEEDED the number of visitors the state had during that same time frame in 2019, meaning that the current number is more than what the state had seen during that same time before the pandemic.

Governor DeSantis announces Florida had 30.9 million visitors from October to December, the second consecutive quarter where visitation has topped pre-pandemic levels. https://t.co/fPkB78roLp

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 15, 2022

In addition, Governor DeSantis shared that in 2021, nearly 118 MILLION Americans visited Florida. That is actually the “highest number of domestic travelers” in the history of the state.

In 2021, nearly 118 million Americans visited Florida, the highest number of domestic travelers in the history of our state.

Our fellow Americans know that, in Florida, they can expect sunshine, great hospitality, and freedom.

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 15, 2022

Generally speaking, this time of year (January/February) at Disney World is pretty quiet and less crowded as kids go back to school, but we’ve seen many more guests in the parks than we have previously seen during this time.

During Disney’s recent Earnings Call for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, we also learned that Disney Parks have hit an all-time revenue record, partly due to increased attendance at the parks.

Part of Florida’s tourism boost could also be coming from international visitors. Last year, the U.S. government eased certain travel restrictions for international visitors.  The cruise industry has also resumed, meaning Florida’s ports are once again seeing more activity.

Of course, things are subject to change again. Just what will Florida’s tourism numbers look like a month, 3 months, and a year from now? We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for those updates and share them with you.

For now, if you’re heading to Disney World, plan for some crowds to be there with you. We’ll keep you updated on ALL travel news that relates to Disney World, so stay tuned for more!

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Have you visited Florida yet this year? Do you have plans to visit the state in 2022? Let us know in the comments!