Orlando hosted 74 million visitors in 2022, a 25 percent increase over 2021, according to the tourist organization Visit Orlando. That total means Orlando has maintained its position as the No. 1 destination in the United States.
“This past year proved to be a key recovery timeframe for Orlando’s tourism industry, with a lot of pent-up demand from our top U.S. and international markets,” said Casandra Matej, president and CEO for Visit Orlando. “Our new international brand launch and strong commitment to strategic sales and marketing initiatives, combined with our destination’s continuous evolution of new unbelievably real experiences, helped Orlando maintain its leadership position and achieve strong visitation numbers.
More than 900 tourism and community officials were present as Visit Orlando broke the announcement as part of National Travel & Tourism Week, the annual celebration of the accomplishments of the U.S. travel industry.
The visitation uptick comes off the back of Visit Orlando’s new Unbelievably Real brand launch, first introduced in May 2022 to domestic visitors followed by an international marketing campaign in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru. The comprehensive campaigns reached 54% of Orlando’s target market households and generated more than $8 billion in additional future direct visitor spending equating to $359 in visitor spending for each dollar of media spent.
The top three overseas origin markets to Orlando were Brazil, the UK, and Canada.
In 2023, Orlando, the home of the world’s theme parks, will continue to expand with an exciting lineup of new experiences for visitors to enjoy, including a new eco-friendly, high-speed rail service connecting Orlando and Miami as well as theme park attractions like the first-ever surf coaster and a devilish family attraction based on the Minions.
