According to a newly released report from VisitFlorida, an estimated 32.5 million visitors made a trip to the Sunshine State from July to September. This number beats pre-pandemic levels, but only by 0.3%.
That slim margin includes international travel from 2019, which was largely prohibited during the timeframe in question in 2021. That meant that to beat 2019 levels, domestic travel would have to make up the difference…and it did. According to the report, domestic travel was up 6.6% over 2019 levels.
Air travel accounts for more than 30% of visits, nearly doubling year-over-year growth. To that end, Orlando International was the busiest airport in the state with an estimated 5.3 million travelers.
As far as hotels were concerned, the average daily rate has been higher than 2019 averages since May 2021, and significantly higher than 2020 rates. Occupancy rates were lower than 2019 levels but higher than the same timeframe in 2020.
While Disney does not release exact visitation numbers, executives said that attendance at Walt Disney World between July-September was up double digits over April-June.
As Disney World continues to bring back offerings such as the Indiana Jones Stunt Show in December, and possibly more entertainment in the new year, we expect that attendance will remain strong through the holiday season and into 2022.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news and photos from around the Disney Parks!
