74 million vacationers visited Orlando, Florida, nearly reaching pre-pandemic ranges

ORLANDO, Fla. — Greater than 74 million guests got here to the Orlando, Florida, space final 12 months, a benchmark simply in need of pre-pandemic ranges, tourism officers mentioned Thursday.

The variety of vacationers was 25% better than it was in 2021, when central Florida was nonetheless recovering from the blows to tourism attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted worldwide journey and prompted conference cancellations. The realm’s theme parks closed for a number of months in 2020 in an effort to cease the virus’ unfold.

“This previous 12 months proved to be a key restoration timeframe for Orlando’s tourism business, with numerous pent-up demand from our high US and worldwide markets,” mentioned Casandra Matej, president and CEO for Go to Orlando, the world’s tourism promotion group.

The Orlando space had greater than 69 million home guests, with most of them visiting for holidays, a phase that has absolutely recovered, tourism officers mentioned. Enterprise guests nonetheless lagged behind pre-pandemic ranges.

There have been 4.9 million worldwide vacationers, making up solely about three-quarters of pre-pandemic ranges, in response to Go to Florida. The 2 greatest sources of worldwide guests have been Canada and the United Kingdom.