NEWS RELEASES
Orlando Becomes First U.S. Destination To Surpass 70 Million Annual Visitors
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved through Visit Orlando's website.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- At a special gathering of more than 1,000 tourism and community leaders, Visit Orlando, the region's official destination tourism and marketing organization, announced that the city hosted 72 million visitors in 2017, the first destination in the United States to reach that number. The figure is an increase of more than 5 percent over the prior year, and once again makes Orlando America's most-visited destination. The area also saw a record convention attendance with the Orange County Convention Center welcoming 1.53 million attendees, up more than 5 percent, and record airline arrivals, with Orlando International Airport, Florida’s busiest, serving 44.6 million passengers, up more than 6 percent.
“Our record-breaking year was achieved despite international headwinds and the statewide effects of Hurricane Irma,” Visit Orlando President and CEO George Aguel said in a press release. U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow added, “The success in Orlando is great, not just for this iconic destination, but for travel as a whole. As the U.S. overall looks to regain its share of the global travel market, this new milestone in Orlando is a welcome reminder of the resiliency of this industry.” For additional information and research taken on Orlando tourism, click here.
For the full press release covering this topic, click here for Visit Orlando.