posted by orlandovacationhome on Jun 14
On a previous post, we established that Florida was the third leading state for international travel to the United States according to the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI). In fact, Florida was only 50,000 international visitors behind California in 2008 for the second spot. With California’s budgetary woes and most certain forthcoming state park closings, Florida will surpass California for the lucrative international travel tourism market.
On the table is a plan to close 220 of 279 California state parks effecting some 80 million domestic and international visitors. This would include such icons as Big Sur and the Redwoods State Park. This is all in an attempt to close the state budgetary shortfall for roughly $400 million spent on the parks system. More than likely, California will end up passing higher user fees to theoretically close the gap, but this will most likely have a net negative overall economic impact on the state.
Luckily Florida tourism vis-a-vis the state park system does not face these same challenges. The problem California has is that it’s magnificent parks are an implicit part of many international traveler itineraries. Closing or dramatically raising park fees will have a spillover effect on overall international travel volume and further lower state revenues. In fact, many economists calculate a positive 2 to 1 benefit to cost multiplier ratio for California state revenues.
Although Florida tourism is down, travel to Disney and other parts of Florida are still highly viable. As value to the average international traveler increases via discounted tickets, increased attractions statewide and improved international air service, Florida will most certainly surpass California for total international travel volume. Rather than reducing attractions and park services that lure visitors and bring in tax revenues, California should follow Florida’s lead.
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posted by orlandovacationhome on Jun 1
It might be a little surpising to many Floridians that the largest market for international travel is travel to the US and Florida from Canada. According to Florida tourism statistics, the number of Canadian visitors is almost double that of British arrivals (2.5 million vs. 1.5 million) which is the second largest bloc of international travelers for Florida tourism. In fact, about 2 million of the 2.5 million Canadian guests were from the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
Why is that fact so surprising for travel to the US from Canada? Canadians tend to blend in a little more because of the perceived small differences in language. One can be at the retail store in line or some other public place and not know the person beside you or in front of you is Canadian. This is certainly not true for the British visiting the United States. Second, there is very little travel reciprocated from Florida to Canada. Ten times the number of Canadians visit Florida as vice versa. Canadian travel in general doesn’t receive the buzz that it deserves.
One additional reason the Canadian travel market is so potent for Florida is the fact that Canadians tend to hang around and enjoy the region more than most other international travelers (i.e. snowbirds). This translates into about $2 billion dollars for the state economy. As it relates to the Orlando vacation rental market, Canadians tend to be more of a “fractional” longer term guest which provides stability and lowers costs to market and rent homes for the vacation home owner.
For more economic information related to Canadian investment in Florida, please go to:
www.orlandoedc.com/edcPublic/communique/2009/images/Canada-FL%20Economic%20Study.pps
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posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 5
Regardless of what side of the political aisle you are on, we can all agree that Obama’s win is historic. America needs to feel good again about its special place in the world and Obama, at least temporarily, gives us that feeling.
His ascension to the presidency should also have a positive impact on how those in other nations perceive the country as well. According to news reports, Illinois is already banking on the Obama buzz to boost tourism to the state and to the city of Chicago as well.
Barack Obama President - Impact On Orlando Travel
It’s no secret that since 9/11, international travel to the United States has fallen about 10 million visitors per year according to the Travel Industry Council. However, this has mainly been due to customs travel issues. As far as Orlando is concerned, about 3.5 million visitors to the area are international travelers, with half of those being European travelers. International travelers account for 17% of local economic impacts.
Our thought is that it will be now much easier to export American culture due to the star status and “International Panache” that Obama embodies. He will make it cool to be American again after several record years of low international perception of the United States. Interestingly, Obama also has small children in his home, and it will the first time since Kennedy that this is the case. With Disney being a premier pop icon of American culture which captures the imagination of millions of children, we can infer that international travel to the area might get a boost from his Presidency. Obama is also a “feel good” story which is what the Disney “brand” is all about. The two would be a nice match to boost tourism in the area. Local theme parks and vacation home owners would certainly get their fair share of this traffic. Let’s hope that is the case.
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