Could Omicron Put Florida’s Tourism in Harm’s Way?

State economists anticipate the new omicron variant of the coronavirus will slow, at least temporarily, Florida’s resurging pace of tourism — particularly a return of international visitors.

Saying the world is entering a time of uncertainty, members of the state Economic Estimating Conference agreed Monday to slightly lower expectations through the middle of 2022 for Canadian and overseas travelers, as the panel looked at various aspects of the Florida economy.

Amy Baker, coordinator of the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research, said she expects the highly contagious variant will affect people’s decisions to travel to and from Florida.

“I think omicron kind of changed the environment,” Baker said. “I know of two people who were planning to travel internationally. They canceled their trips because of omicron, not knowing what additional lockdown restrictions (would be) if they got some place. Would their country be open? What’s happening in the United States? What would be their requirements on them going?”

Baker said after the meeting that forecast numbers had not yet been recalculated.

The state’s tourism industry exceeded expectations in the third quarter of 2021, drawing 32.6 million visitors, which was 2 million more than forecast earlier this year and 0.3 percent above the overall number of visitors in the third quarter of 2019 — before the pandemic began. 

The third-quarter totals followed 31.7 million visitors in the second quarter, which was a 16.3 percent improvement on the first quarter and 2.2 percent below the second quarter of 2019.

Almost 90 percent of visitors this year have come from other states. Officials at Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-marketing arm, have been expecting a resurgence in Canadian and overseas visitors after the White House eased travel restrictions in November.

Florida counts on international travelers, who typically spend more time and cash while in the state.

Canadian tourists on average spend about 16 days in the state. For overseas visitors, the average is 12 days, and domestic tourists spend an average of six days.

Economists provided some positives for domestic travelers, including that high gasoline prices should return to lower levels seen in prior forecasts. Also, they said increasing air travel prices should remain below pre-coronavirus levels through next year.

Source: CBS 4 Miami