Canadians boost Orlando numbers

Last year was another record-breaking year for Orlando, with final 2011 visitation numbers revealing that Orlando welcomed 55.1 million visitors, up 7.2% from last year’s record-setting 51.4 million and 1.5% over the previous forecast of 54.3 million visitors. Total domestic visitation (business and leisure) accounted for 51.3 million visitors, a 7.5% increase over 2010 and a record for any US destination. International travel totalled 3.8 million, an increase of 3.5% from 2010. Orlando is the first destination in the country to welcome more than 55 million visitors and remains the most visited destination in the US. Canada continues to be Orlando’s top international market, breaking the one-million-visitor mark for the first time, an increase of 5.7%. Overall, 1,015,000 Canadians visited in 2011, compared to 960,000 in 2010 (a 5.7% increase). Next best was the United Kingdom at 767,000. Go to http://www.VisitOrlando.com for more.