Florida Ranks No. 1 as The Most Popular Vacation Destination in The U.S.
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From Staff Reports
When people are looking for a place to get away from it all, Florida is the top state they turn to, according to a new study. The Sunshine State receives, on average, 155,110 searches from vacation-goers every single month. In addition to visitors from other states, more than 10 million overseas tourists visit the state annually.
The list, compiled from Google searches for each state on vacation packages, rentals, and locations, was produced by vacation rental marketplace FloridaRentals.com. The study revealed that Florida, which has two coasts that are absolutely lousy with beautiful beaches and towns, was the most-Googled location for a vacation with 155,110 searches.
Why is Florida so popular? James Watts of Coastal Abode Real Estate and Development knows the area intimately, especially 30-A on Florida’s Emerald Coast.
“White sand, clear water, state parks, dune lakes, good restaurants, live music venues, year-round events, easy access, and on and on and on. I focus a lot on 30-A because that is where I live, but Destin has been here for much longer and still draws visitors due to the beaches and easy boating access. The Destin Harbor is a great spot to dine on the water or rent a boat for the day. Things are more fast-paced in Destin but there is no shortage of activities there. 30-A tends to be a little slower. I have traveled all over the U.S. from California to South Florida and the keys plus all over the Caribbean. Our beaches and water are tough to beat. Our restaurants are tough to beat.”
Hawaii and California — also popular spots for lazing on a gorgeous beach — came in second and third on the study, respectively. Hawaii was a close second to Florida with about 125,590 searches, though both states have islands, beaches, and incredible views. A 2019 study from the Hawaii Tourism Authority found that tourist spending in the state brought in more than $17 billion a year, supporting more than 216,000 jobs.
California’s third-place showing had 30,680 searches — a huge gap between the top two locations. Colorado ranked fourth (29,840) as a vacation destination according to searches. A study from the Colorado Tourism Office found that tourism saves every Colorado household $670 annually in taxes based on the $1.5 billion in state and local taxes paid annually by visitors. Rounding out the top five is Maine, which receives more than 28,260 searches a month from vacation-goers, most of which are from Canada.
In the list of most-googled vacation destinations, Texas came in ninth (20,150).
