FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, April 9, 2026 CONTACT: Christina Johnson Tallahassee, Fla. – Florida TaxWatch (FTW) President and CEO Jeff Kottkamp today presented a report, Tourism In Central Florida: […]
My name is Dominic M. Calabro, and I am President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, taxpayer research institute and government watchdog which, for more than 40 years, has worked hard to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability of Florida government and promote a fair and equitable system of taxation.
Introduction Fueled by a strong global presence in tourism, trade, and real estate development, Florida’s economy has grown to $1.87 trillion in 2025. If Florida
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, May 7, 2026 CONTACT: Christina Johnson Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released its report, Florida Manufacturing: A Highly Productive and Integral Economic Driver,
Each year, more than one hundred million visitors come to Florida to enjoy its beaches, warm temperatures, and its numerous parks, thrills, and attractions. Latest FloridaCommerce data confirm that Florida set a new all-time annual record in calendar year 2024 with 143 million visitors an increase of 1.7 percent over the previous record set in 2023. Out-of-state visitors to Florida spent $134.9 billion in calendar year 2024. For every $1 spent by a visitor, 99 cents stayed in Florida’s economy, with 59 cents supporting worker salaries. Tourism supported 1.8 million jobs in 2024 and generated $79.9 billion in wages, including $44 billion in direct wages. Tourism-related activity produced $33.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. Tourism accounted for 7.8 percent of Florida’s Nominal Gross State Product (GSP), contributing $133.6 billion to the state’s economy in 2024. Without tourism, Florida households would pay $1,730 more annually in state and local taxes alone to sustain current levels of revenue.
Florida’s economy has been growing to new heights these past years — reaching nearly $1.5 trillion. The Q1 2025 economic forecast by Florida TaxWatch examines key trends in population growth, employment, income, GDP, and tourism, offering valuable insights for policymakers, business leaders, and taxpayers.
Tourism plays a major role in Florida’s economic strength. More than 142 million tourists are expected to visit Florida in 2023. In 2019, 131 million visitors spent nearly $100 billion, supporting 1.6 million Florida jobs that paid $57 billion in wages. The spending generated $12.7 billion in state and local taxes. Without the state and local taxes generated by tourism, each Florida household would have to pay as much as $1,420 in additional taxes just to maintain the current level of government services.
The Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) met on August 16, 2022, to develop the state’s new forecast for general revenue (GR) collections. After the close of FY2021-22, which wildly exceed revenue expectations, the REC increased the estimates for FY2022-23 and 2023-24 by a total of $5.3 billion.
One only needs to look at the experience of other states that have reduced or eliminated their tourism marketing efforts to understand what will happen if VISIT FLORIDA is eliminated. States like Colorado and Washington that have drastically cut or eliminated their investment in travel promotion have experienced immediate and long-term negative economic impacts. Destinations that fail to invest consistently in travel promotion will see visitors, jobs, and tax revenues go elsewhere. Should Florida choose to follow suit, tourism and the economic activity and taxes it generates will certainly decline.
The Florida TaxWatch Budget Watch series has been detailing the rapid recovery of the state government’s revenue collections from the initial precipitous drop in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have highlighted how current General Revenue (GR) estimates are back above the last pre-pandemic estimates. Coupled with billions of dollars in federal aid, Florida is in enviable fiscal shape as the Legislature heads into the 2022 Regular Session.
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