By: James Buechele
July 23, 2015
TALLAHASSEE — A Florida watchdog group says for every 85 people that visit the state, 1 job is created.
That’s important, because just last year, 97 million people visited the sunshine state as tourists.
This all comes as Florida Governor Rick Scott touts the tourism industry.
Governor Scott hopes to eclipse the 100 million tourist mark this year. That’s why he’s been promoting tourism to boost the state’s economy.
Governor Scott says he wants to take the state’s tourism to the next level.
Thursday, Scott found himself at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium outside of Saint Petersburg promoting the industry.
In the first quarter of the year Florida has seen 28 million visitors. That’s more than a six percent increase from this time last year.
“When people come here, they want to move here,” says Gov. Scott
Florida TaxWatch says they’d like to see even more money invested in tourism because of the return on investment.
“It’s a great job creator. It’s hundreds of millions of dollars in economic development. It exports our tax system because we have a sales tax that people outside of Florida pay,” says Senior Vice President of Research for Florida TaxWatch, Robert Weissert.
States like Texas, California and North Carolina are big draws for millions as the competition to lure more visitors increases every year.
“Tourism is a competitive industry with people wanting to go to a lot of different places. It’s not just Florida that has sunshine and beaches,” Weissert says.
And despite larger populations in South and Central Florida, all regions, including here in the Big Bend, benefit from advertising.
“Really, it affects all parts of the state,” Weissert adds.
Florida is on pace to smash the record for tourists. Experts predict the state will bring in more than 100 million visitors in 2015.
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