Greater Miami Sets Overnight Visitor Records for 2011 Travel

Overnight visitors to Greater Miami and the Beaches grew 6.7 percent to a record-breaking 13.4 million in 2011, William D. Talbert, III, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) announced.

The number of international visitors grew by 7.2 percent to a record 6.5 million international visitors. Domestic visitors increased 6.2 percent to a record 6.9 million domestic visitors.

Latin America continued to be the leading source of international visitors, accounting for more than 4.4 million overnight visitors in 2011, a 9.2 percent increase over 2010. Brazil surpassed Canada in number of overnight visitors with more than 634,000 to become Greater Miami’s No. 1 international market in 2011.

With international markets representing almost 50 percent of Greater Miami’s overnight visitors, the GMCVB aggressively supported efforts in 2011 to raise the awareness among legislative leaders of the need to improve Visa Waiver wait times and ultimately secure Visa Waiver for countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile. These efforts by the GMCVB continue to be a top priority moving forward.

A record $20.7 billion in visitor expenditures was generated in 2011, an increase of 10.1 percent over the previous year with international expenditures representing 70 percent of the total versus domestic.

The GMCVB added to the menu of these promotions in June by launching the first Miami Romance Month with the “Marry Me in Miami” promotion to raise awareness of Greater Miami as a destination for romantic getaways, engagements, weddings, commitment ceremonies and honeymoons. A record 3.1 million overnight visitors were welcomed to Greater Miami in the third quarter of 2011.