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As we begin shifting focus toward snowbird season on summer’s unofficial final weekend, a new study found that Collier County is among the nation’s leaders in international tourism per capita and in growth.
Crunching U.S. Department of Commerce and Census data, Luxury Link, an online booking platform, put together the overseas visitors analysis that did not include Mexico and Canada, which as the license plates illustrate, make their presence known around here as well in the winter.
Here’s what to know.
Where did Collier County, Florida rank in international tourism?
The Naples area ranked 12th in per capita in 2023, behind stalwarts such as Miami, San Francisco, Hawaii, New York City, Boston and the Disney World area.
But it landed even higher in growth. It was 7th in percentage change in 2023 from 2022, which as we all know finished horribly for many of us with Hurricane Ian and kept folks away.
The pandemic, however, is not a factor in the comparison as that was a challenge not only across the country but around the world, researchers noted. In 2023, the U.S. didn’t return to pre-COVID 19 levels, with the total at 31 million visitors as compared to 2019’s 40 million.
What percentage of Naples, Florida tourists are international?
Overall, the Naples area attracted 208,000 overseas travelers in 2023, a 73.3% jump from the previous year. More populated Lee County drew 132,000.
And so far this year, tourism to the Naples area by Europeans is well ahead of last year’s pace, according to the newest data collected by the county tourism office and its contractors. Through June, that’s up 72%, well ahead of every other region.
Overall in 2024 so far, Europeans have represented 5.6% of the share of Collier’s tourists, which is better than the numbers coming from the western part of the United States, and half of what we’re drawing from the rest of the state. Canadians are at 4.9% and those from South and Central America are at 1.5%. The Midwest leads with 27%, followed by the Northeast’s 21.8% and Florida’s 11.8%.
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How high does Naples, Florida compare to other top U.S. metros?Metros ranked by overseas visitors per capitatotalper capitapct. change 2022-231Flagstaff, AZ554,0003,846+38.5%2Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL4,365,0001,632+6.8%3San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA2,281,0001,483+31.2%4Honolulu, HI1,322,0001,328+85.9%5Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL3,518,0001,273+20.5%6Las Vegas-Paradise, NV2,077,000894+25.1%7St. George, UT151,000764+14.4%8New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ8,890,000745+27.1%9Kahului-Wailuku (Maui), HI104,000633-13.3%10Boston-Quincy, MA1,152,000569+56.1%11Salinas, CA245,000566+16.1%12Naples-Marco Island, FL208,000523+73.3%Source: Luxury Link
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Here are some other takeaways from the researchAn estimated 31 million visitors came to the U.S. in 2023 from overseas regions, according to Luxury Link.In 2023, international tourism generated more than $230 billion in exports accounting for about 22% of all U.S. services exports globally.Once in the U.S., the most popular activity for international tourists is shopping, with nearly 25.8 million visitors (82%) engaging in it. Sightseeing is a close second, with almost 24.3 million tourists (77.2%) participating.Among states, New York ranks first in international tourism, with over 9 million overseas travelers in 2023. Florida follows closely (7.9 million visitors), as does California (6.3 million).
Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez (pfernandez@gannett.com) grew up in Southwest Florida and has led Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts. He writes In the Know, one of USA TODAY Network’s most read local news columns in the state. Support democracy. Subscribe to a newspaper.
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Publish date : 2024-08-28 22:00:00
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