TALLAHASSEE, FL—Today, VISIT FLORIDA released data indicating strong growth projections for Florida’s hotel industry. As tourism fuels record visitation and out-of-state spending numbers, construction in Florida’s hotel industry will continue to boom through 2020. This growth is directly correlated to VISIT FLORIDA’s strong marketing efforts that have led to record visitation numbers to the state.
According to statistics from Smith Travel Research (STR), a top firm for global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights, the supply of hotels and rooms in Florida has steadily increased over the past six years and is expected to grow at an even faster pace in the coming years.
Since 2012, 107 new hotels were built across Florida, and the number of hotel rooms increased by 115,948. Currently, there are 109 hotels and 14,525 rooms under construction across the state and an additional 307 hotels and 48,103 hotel rooms expected to break ground in the next 12 to 24 months. The expected growth in 2018 will represent a 3.0 percent increase in hotels and a 3.4 percent increase in rooms. This growth is expected to skyrocket in 2020, with an estimated 8.1 percent increase in hotels and 10.9 percent increase in rooms.
Ken Lawson, President & CEO of VISIT FLORIDA, said “Florida’s hotels represent the number one spending source for visitors to our state, and today’s numbers from STR show investment in our state’s tourism industry is booming. This growth is a direct result of the success VISIT FLORIDA has had marketing our state and attracting record numbers of visitors. As VISIT FLORIDA continues to market the Sunshine State—and our beautiful hotels—to the rest of the world, it’s crucial that we have the resources to match the investments being made in our state. We will keep fighting for full funding of $100 million to match the huge investments in our hotel industry, create more jobs, and make Florida the number one global destination.”
