Miami Tourism Statistics And Trends

Tourism is a pretty big deal in Miami. Each year, Miami welcomes millions of tourists, both domestic and international, and generates billions of dollars in revenue. It’s currently the 2nd most visited city in the United States and made around $11 billion in revenue this previous year. It’s easy to see why Miami has a thriving tourism industry. Miami is home to extensive resort facilities and amenities as well as having a prime location on the coast with a mild climate. It is also near the Everglades National Park as well as sandy beaches, a zoo, museums, gardens, and more. So, there’s no shortage of attractions either. It comes as no surprise that a majority of Miami’s visitors, whether they be from inside the US or out, are here to enjoy some time on vacation. Each visitor will spend on average $785 as they visit some of Miaim’s top areas of interest like Miami Beach or Aventura Mall. If you want to learn more about Miami’s tourism industry and how it has bounced back after the COVID-19 pandemic, check out the facts and statistics below. These will give you a very detailed overview of Miami’s thriving tourism industry!

Key Statistics About Tourism In Miami

• In 2022, Miami welcomed 19.2 million overnight visitors.
• On top of this figure, Miami also saw an additional 7.3 million day visitors in 2022.
• This means that in 2022, Miami saw a total of 26.5 million visitors.
• This is an increase from the previous year’s total. In 2021, Miami saw 15.9 million overnight visitors and 8.3 million day visitors - so 24.2 million visitors in total. So, Miami welcomed an additional 2 million visitors in 2022.
• This means that Miami ranks as the second most visited city in the US, only behind New York City.
• Miami also ranks as the 28th most visited city in the entire world.
• It also means that Miami has a huge tourist to local ratio, with numbers around 1,641 tourists for every 100 Miami local residents.
• The tourist high season for Miami is between November and March. This is because the climate is much cooler (and less uncomfortable for tourists). Spring Break also brings a lot of tourists to Miami and this week can fall between March or sometimes as late as April.

Google search volume for the keyword "visit miami". Source: Google Trends

Google search volume for the keyword "hotel miami". Source: Google Trends

Stats And Trends About Miami’s Tourists

• Domestic overnight visitors make up the majority of Miami’s total overnight visitors. 10.4 million flocked to Miami in 2022 - that’s 40% of Miami’s total visitors.
• Most of Miami’s domestic visitors came from New York City.
• In contrast, only 18% (4.7 million) of Miami’s visitors are from outside the US.
• The top five nationalities for Miami international visitors are Colombian, Brazilian, Canadian, Mexican, and British.
• 16% (4.1 million) of Miami’s overnight tourists are Florida Residents - people who already live within the state.
• A majority of visitors flew into Miami in 2022. This includes 82% of domestic visitors and 72% of international visitors.
• 71% of international visitors and 73% of domestic visitors are here for vacation - even 64% of Florida Resident visitors cite their reasons for visiting is for vacation and leisure purposes. This means that
• Miami is a hotspot for those looking for a great vacation location.
• The second top reason for visiting Miami was visiting family and friends. 34% of domestic visitors and 48% of international visitors cited this as their reason for visiting Miami.
• A lot of Miami’s tourists are family parties. 19% of international visitors and 17% of domestic visitors arrived in family parties. More Florida residents visited in family units - 32% of them in fact. This is likely because more Florida resident tourists cite visiting family and friends as their reason for visiting Miami in the first place.
• The average family party size of Miami tourists is between 2.3 and 2.6 individuals.
• Popular neighborhoods for domestic visitors include Miami Beach (50%), Downtown Miami (24%) and South Dade (17%).
• Popular neighborhoods for international visitors are Miami Beach (45%), North Dade (19%), and Downtown Miami (13%).
• Hotels remain the most popular form of lodging for visitors. 66% of domestic visitors stayed at a hotel, motel, resort, or spa - as did 53% of international travelers. These are increasing after the dip in 2021 and 2020 due to the effects of COVID-19.
• Miami’s visitor’s favorite mall is Aventura Mall with a consistent 6% of tourists visiting the mall in 2022 as well as 2021 and 2020.
• Beaches remain the most popular places visited by tourists. 49% of domestic tourists and 47% of international tourists visited Miami’s beaches.
• Other popular places visited include the parks and nightclubs.

Tourism And The Economy Of Miami

• In 2022, tourists spent $20.8 billion in Miami.
• On average, each tourist spends $785 per person per visit.
• International visitors spend the most with an average total of $1,037 spread across lodging, meals, transportation, entertainment, and shopping.
• Florida residents spent the least with $427 per person per visit. They don’t spend as much as international or domestic visitors on lodging and meals. A possible reason for this is that most
• Florida resident visitors are day trip visitors or are staying with friends or family.
• The daily rates for hotels in Miami jumped by 14% in 2022 - but hotels still sold more rooms than ever. As a result, this suggests that tourists are more willing to spend more than they were in the past.
• Visitor spending in Miami is responsible for nearly 40% of all sales tax collected. This money is then funneled into the city’s schools, public transportation, healthcare, and more. So, it’s clear that tourism is vital for Miami’s economy.
• Miami’s tourism market made $11 billion in 2022.
• Miami became the city with the fifth-largest tourism market in the US in 2022, even outperforming Los Angeles in California. It still lags behind much larger cities like New York City.
• In 2022, Miami-Dade county ranked 3rd across the country for hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR), room rate, and occupancy.
• Leisure and hospitality were responsible for 146,800 jobs in 2022 - that’s 11.4% of the total employment of Miami-Dade.

Stats And Trends Post COVID-19

• In 2019, Miami saw a record-number of 24.2 million total visitors. In 2020, this number halved to 11.6 million visitors due to the impact of COVID-19. Travel bans and air travel restrictions made it more difficult for tourists to travel to Miami during this period.
• This resulted in a variation in total visitor spend of -56%, with a drop of $9.943 billion between 2019 and 2020. This, of course, had a huge impact on the economy of Miami.
• Summer of 2020 saw Miami reach its highest rate of unemployment at 15.30%. Nearly 30,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry were lost in Miami between 2019 and 2020.
• In 2021, total visitor levels increased to their pre-COVID numbers. There were a total of 24.2 million visitors. So, it didn’t take long for Miami to attract visitors post-pandemic.
• This also meant that total visitor spend increased to $19.222 billion - a 70% variance compared to 2020 and an increase of 42% compared to pre-COVID spending in 2019.
• However, tourism momentum post-COVID has been driven by domestic visitors and tourists as opposed to international visitors. This could suggest that as a result of the pandemic, more people are choosing to vacation domestically than internationally - or it could be due to the rising costs seen in 2022.
• Despite this, Miami Airport had its busiest year in 2022 with a record 29.3 million cosmetic travelers and 21.3 million international visitors. So, post-COVID, Miami is still attracting plenty of visitors even from outside the country.
• Hotels in Greater Miami and Miami Beach sold more rooms in 2022 than in the previous year.
• More tourists are visiting Miami for vacation and pleasure purposes. In 2021, around 65% of tourists cited vacation and pleasure as their reason for visiting Miami while in 2022, this jumped between 70% to 80%. This is another sign that Miami is recovering well from the pandemic.
• Leisure and hospitality employment continues to increase in 2022. In Miami-Dade, it went up from 10.5% in 2021 to 11.4%, recovering from the -19.1% drop seen in 2020. So, this is a good indicator that the industry is back on its feet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKZNeRuueCA

References

• https://issuu.com/miamiandmiamibeachguides.com/docs/2022_visitor_industry_overview
• https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/getmedia/fcf55ce5-3058-4362-990b-e33cf85171d2/Visitor_Industry_Overview_2021_FINAL_1.pdf 
• https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/getmedia/004b3094-e2a5-49a0-bd64-d583c43546f8/Visitor_Industry_Overview_FY_2020.pdf.aspx#:~:text=The%20total%20number%20of%20visitors,nine%20months%20of%20the%20year. 
• https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/getmedia/414b53a1-6b69-4eae-91f2-ed4585389a58/2019_Visitor_Industry_Overview_051320.aspx?ext=.pdf 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_international_visitors 
• https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article272042032.html#:~:text=Orlando%20was%20the%20U.S.%20city,tourism%20market%2C%20with%20%2411%20billion.
• https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate-in-miami-dade-county-fl-percent-m-nsa-fed-data.html#:~:text=Unemployment%20Rate%20in%20Miami%2DDade%20County%2C%20FL%20was%201.80%25,1.30%20in%20February%20of%202020.  
• https://www.tripsavvy.com/the-best-time-to-visit-miami-4176281