Number of visitors to Orlando down in 2006, new report says
Gas prices and housing slump blamed -- this year looks better
Jason Garcia | Sentinel Staff Writer
December 20, 2007
The number of visitors to Orlando tumbled by 1.5 million people in 2006, according to data included in a report released Wednesday by the region's tourism bureau.
The 47.8 million people who traveled to Orlando last year was 3.1 percent less than the 49.3 million visitors in 2005, the figures showed. That's the first drop in total travel to Orlando since 2001 -- a year that included a recession and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- and only the second decline in at least 15 years.
But the tourism industry nonetheless injected more than $29.8 billion into the Orlando economy last year and directly employed more than 224,000 people, according to the report, which was commissioned by the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Visitors bureau spokeswoman Danielle Courtenay attributed the drop in visitors to pocketbook issues that hit consumers in 2006, such as the start of the housing slump and then-record fuel prices.
"There wasn't one clear-cut reason, but [indications] pointed to the economic situation," Courtenay said.
Travel to Orlando was down in a host of categories in 2006 compared with 2005.
Domestic visitors fell 3.3 percent to 45.1 million. The number of in-state visitors, who represent just over half of all domestic travelers to Orlando, fell 2.8 percent to 23.9 million.
International visitation inched up by 0.5 percent to 2.7 million. But travelers from Orlando's most important overseas market -- the United Kingdom -- plunged to 973,000 from nearly 1.1 million the year before, an 8.2 percent drop.
International visitors are particularly important because they tend to stay longer and spend more money on their vacations. The report said they accounted for 17 percent of all visitor spending in Orlando during 2006, even though they made up just 6 percent of all visitors.
There were a few bright spots in the 2006 report: The number of business travelers rose 1.9 percent to 10.5 million. Visitors from Canada jumped 5.5 percent to 693,000.
Courtenay said planners think visitor totals will come in higher when this year's results are tallied, based in part on more-encouraging reports of hotel-room rentals and tourist-tax collections in 2007.
The theme parks have likewise reported more upbeat results this year. A SeaWorld Orlando spokeswoman said SeaWorld has already set annual attendance records even though the busy holidays aren't yet complete. Disney executives have also said their U.S. parks have drawn record crowds.
A spokesman for Universal Orlando said its parks saw double-digit attendance increases during the third-quarter of 2007.
"Our holiday season is off to a very good start," Universal spokesman Tom Schroder added, "and we're excited about the future."
