How Many Tourism Companies Are in Florida?

By Alice Nichols

When it comes to tourism, Florida is a state that is hard to beat. With its warm climate, beautiful beaches, and abundance of attractions, it’s no surprise that the state attracts millions of visitors each year.

But just how many tourism companies are there in Florida? Let’s take a closer look.

First and foremost, it’s important to note that the term “tourism company” can be somewhat vague. For our purposes, we’ll define a tourism company as any business that specializes in offering products or services to travelers visiting Florida. This could include everything from hotels and resorts to tour operators and transportation providers.

According to the latest data from Visit Florida, the official tourism marketing corporation for the state of Florida, there were over 300,000 businesses in the state’s tourism industry as of 2019. Of these businesses, approximately 90% were considered small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

Breaking down these numbers further, we can see that there are several key sectors within Florida’s tourism industry. The largest sector by far is accommodation and food services, which accounted for over 200,000 businesses in 2019. This includes everything from hotels and motels to restaurants and bars.

The next largest sector is retail trade, which includes businesses like souvenir shops and theme park gift stores. This sector accounted for around 30,000 businesses in 2019.

Other significant sectors within Florida’s tourism industry include transportation and warehousing (which includes rental car companies), arts/entertainment/recreation (which includes attractions like theme parks), and real estate/rental/leasing (which includes vacation rental properties).

It’s worth noting that these numbers may have changed somewhat in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. With travel restrictions and decreased demand for travel over the past year or so, some tourism companies may have closed or scaled back operations.

In conclusion, while it’s difficult to give an exact number of tourism companies in Florida, we can say with certainty that there are hundreds of thousands of businesses operating within the state’s thriving tourism industry. From hotels and restaurants to transportation providers and attractions, there are countless ways for visitors to experience all that Florida has to offer.