Canadian visitors are down, but Florida’s tourism industry is still breaking records

Florida’s tourism hit record-breaking levels in 2025 even as the number of Canadian travelers has dropped.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that 143.3 million visitors traveled to Florida in 2025, according to preliminary numbers.

“Florida continues to set the standard as the top travel destination in the nation, welcoming millions of visitors while delivering real economic benefits for our residents,” DeSantis said in a press release. 

About 2.9 million Canadians visited the Sunshine State in 2025, which is a dip from previous years.

As the state was rebounding from the COVID pandemic, about 3.2 million Canadians visited in 2023, meaning the 2025 total is a more than 9% drop from that 2023 number.

But state leaders said Friday they believe the state’s tourism industry is thriving.

They highlighted 2025’s fourth quarter, which brought in about 33.5 million visitors. The state said that’s the highest fourth quarter ever recorded.

About 131.1 million Americans — nearly 92% of the state’s visitors — traveled to the Sunshine State in 2025. Overseas visitation was estimated at 9.3 million, with growth from Latin American countries such as Brazil and Argentina, the press release said.

“Florida tourism continues to lead the nation,” said Bryan Griffin, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA. “Florida’s tourism success is a result of the people and businesses in our state who offer the world’s greatest vacation experiences, attractions, lodging, and dining options.”

The state addressed the Canadian drop Friday by saying the latest number is “consistent with historical trends where Canadian travel represents approximately 2% of total visitation.”

Canadian tourists — known for having a high disposable income and often looking for somewhere warm to escape the Winter — have reportedly been skipping their Florida vacations in a backlash following President Donald Trump’s comments about annexing Canada and a desire for international tariffs.

DeSantis downplayed the Canadian tourism decline last year.

“They said that the Canadians were going to stop coming to Florida. And I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s true, because who would want to be in Canada in the Winter or Spring when you could be in Florida?’” DeSantis said in August.