• February 18, 2013

Florida's official tourism organization Visit Florida is reporting stats from last year: there 89.3 million visitors market a 2.3% increase versus 2011 the former record year for visits to the Sunshine State. The organization says the direct travel-related jobs in 2012 hit their peak last year, too, at over 1.03 million.

Of the visitors, the organization says 10.2 million came from overseas, and 3.6 million from Canada. 

The organization says tourism and recreation taxable sales for Florida increased every month year-over-year from January through November 2012, and that -- per Smith Travel Research -- Florida tourism has been steadily regaining market share since January 2012, outpacing the rest of the U.S.