Visit Florida is the state's official tourism marketing corporation, a public-private partnership based in Tallahassee. It promotes a state that drew a record 143.3 million visitors in 2025, according to Visit Florida's preliminary estimates. Regional convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) run local campaigns underneath it, and PR agencies win Visit Florida work through market-by-market requests for proposals (RFPs).
Growth has flattened. Visit Florida estimated about 39.9 million visitors for the first quarter of 2026, roughly 1% fewer than the same quarter a year earlier, WJHG reported. A PR team pitching Florida now sells against a flat visitor count, not a rising one.
Updated October 8, 2026. Part of EPR's State Communications series, with companions on Hawaii and California.
How many people visit Florida, and is that number still growing?
Florida welcomed 143.3 million visitors in 2025, up 0.2% from 2024, which Visit Florida counts as a record year. Four data points show where the curve sits now.
Domestic travelers made up 91.5% of 2025 visitors, or 131.1 million Americans. Overseas visitors were 6.5% and Canadians 2%, per the same Visit Florida estimates. The United Kingdom sent 1.2 million visitors in 2025, up 5.9%, according to Pax News.
Brazil is now Florida's second-largest overseas market, and Universal Epic Universe opened in Orlando in May 2025, with an expected $2 billion first-year economic impact, ClickOrlando reported.
Who funds Visit Florida, and how much?
Visit Florida is funded by the State of Florida and by private partners, according to the corporation's own 2024 Canada RFP. For fiscal year 2026-27, the House and Senate both set aside $80 million, the same level as the current year, Visit Florida CEO Bryan Griffin told the executive committee in May 2026, per WLRN and the News Service of Florida.
Visit Florida's agency RFPs ask contractors to help build cooperative advertising and promotions that support the corporation's required private match. An agency pitching Visit Florida should price its plan around partner revenue, not only earned media.
How do Florida's regional CVBs divide the marketing work?
Florida's regional CVBs market their own destinations under the Visit Florida statewide brand, so a pitch that works for Orlando rarely works for the Keys. The table shows what each region leads with.
| Region | Anchor draws | Typical PR angle |
|---|
| Orlando and Central Florida | Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, conventions | Park openings, family travel, meetings business |
| Greater Miami | PortMiami cruises, South Beach, Art Basel Miami Beach | Luxury, cruise, Latin American cross-border travel |
| Tampa Bay | Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium, Gulf beaches, pro sports | Sports tourism, beach recovery, events |
| Florida Keys | Key West, Marathon, Islamorada, Key Largo | Fishing, diving, eco-tourism |
| Northeast Florida | Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Amelia Island | History, beaches, sports weekends |
| Gulf Coast | Naples, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Emerald Coast | Family beach trips, second-home visitors |
For deeper regional reads, see Orlando's tourism brand and the Gulf Coast market in the Tampa Bay PR guide. EPR's Top 7 PR Firms for US Tourism shows how the national market compares.
How does Visit Florida hire PR and advertising agencies?
Visit Florida hires agencies through separate RFPs and reviews for each market and each job, not through one statewide contract. The record shows four different procurement tracks.
| Scope | What the record shows | Source |
|---|
| Domestic PR agency of record | DKC Public Relations was named to oversee domestic communications, media and influencer relations | Agility PR |
| Advertising and branding | BarkleyOKRP was named agency of record after a review | MediaPost |
| UK and Ireland PR, travel trade and sales | RFP issued for in-market PR, travel trade and promotions | Visit Florida RFP |
| Canada PR, travel trade and sales | RFP for media relations, journalists and content creators | Visit Florida RFP |
Each RFP expects the agency to work with Visit Florida's other agency partners and to speak for the corporation only when directed. Agencies that win do so on market-specific media lists, not on a generic Florida deck.
What communications risks do Florida tourism teams plan around?
Florida tourism teams plan around three recurring risks: hurricanes, state-level political fights and shifting international numbers.
Hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, a window the National Hurricane Center chose because it covers about 97% of Atlantic storms, Fox Weather reported. Florida tourism messaging plans cover half of every calendar year.
State-versus-employer disputes. In March 2024, Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District settled the state-court lawsuits over development agreements signed with the former Reedy Creek district, per the Florida Phoenix. Disney's separate federal retaliation suit, which a federal judge had rejected, was a different case and went to appeal.
Revised numbers. Visit Florida first estimated 2.904 million Canadian visitors for 2025, then revised the figure to 3.174 million after an Ontario border kiosk undercount, according to WJHG. A preliminary figure that is later corrected can drive a week of negative headlines, so label every early estimate as preliminary and name the quarter.
Which PR agencies serve Florida's institutional clients?
Florida's state, regional and destination clients draw on agencies based in Tallahassee, South Florida and Tampa Bay. The table lists the firms EPR tracks in each tier.
| Agency | Base | Focus |
|---|
| The Zimmerman Agency | Tallahassee | Tourism and state government clients |
| Sachs Media Group | Tallahassee | Public affairs and government relations |
| rbb Communications | Miami | South Florida independent |
| BoardroomPR | Fort Lauderdale | South Florida independent |
| Tucker Hall | Tampa | Tampa Bay independent |
| Newlink Group | Miami | Latin America cross-border work |
| Conroy Martinez Group | Coral Gables | Latin America cross-border work |
| Red Banyan | Fort Lauderdale | Crisis and reputation management |
| The Weinbach Group | South Florida | Healthcare and Hispanic marketing |
| Pantelides PR & Consulting | Palm Beach County | Boutique PR founded by a former CBS 12 anchor |
5W AI Communications (5WPR) announced in July 2026 that it is relocating its headquarters to Florida, with offices at 100 SE 2nd Street in Miami and 110 South 12th Street in Tampa and 35 people in the state at the time of the announcement. EPR covered the move in 5W's Florida headquarters announcement, and 5W describes its Florida work on its Miami PR agency page.
The full agency list by sector is in Florida PR Firms: The 2026 Directory, and the Miami tier is ranked in PR Agencies in Miami: The 2026 List.
What should a Florida tourism PR team do next?
A Florida tourism PR team should pitch by region, cite Visit Florida's quarterly estimates by name and build one media list per CVB market. A statewide pitch fits none of the six regions in the table above, and a flat first quarter means editors want a fresh angle, not a record-year recap.
For the wider Florida growth picture, see the growth markets section of Florida PR Firms: The 2026 Directory. For how AI search treats Miami brands, see the Miami World Cup AI visibility study.
