Lured by rock-bottom prices, international buyers are now flocking to buy Florida properties. It’s especially true in countries where the currency is strong against the dollar.
The buying frenzy was set off by developers lowering prices on new units to below what it costs to build in today’s market
The U.K is the #1 U.S. inbound market and last year, some 4.2 million travelers from the United Kingdom visited the United States, spending more than $13.3 billion, or $3,200 per person. Two thirds of the U.K. visitors came to the U.S. on vacation and one third used a travel agency as an information source to plan the trip. (Source: ITA-Office of Travel & Tourism Industries)
Two thirds of the U.K. visitors came to the U.S. on vacation and one third used a travel agency as an information source to plan the trip
U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and the largest generator of Visit USA travel – it is NOT a typical trade show. In just three days of intensive pre-scheduled business appointments, more than 1,000 U.S. travel organizations from every region of the USA (representing all industry category components), and close to 1,500 International and Domestic Buyers from more than 70 countries, conduct business negotiations that result in the generation of over $3.5 billion in future Visit USA travel. At International Pow Wow, buyers and sellers are able to conduct business that would otherwise be generated only through an exhaustive number of around-the-world trips
Delegates from Lee County included – Lee County VCB – Universal Vacations – Pink Shell Resort – Diamondhead Resort – Outrigger – Sanibel Resort & Spa Representatives for Lee County from the UK and Germany
According to the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau’s (VCB) research partner Davidson Peterson Associates, total expenditures for tourism in the county in 2009 equaled $2.6 billion. That amount equates to nearly $7 million per day, $297,934 per hour, $4,966 per minute and $83 per second! Plus, tourism accounts for nearly one of every four jobs in the county or 38,159 residents directly employed by the tourism industry. That’s 22 percent of total employment in the county or nearly the population of Bonita Springs. In addition to the 38,159 direct industry jobs in 2009, the industry supported another 15,178 indirect and induced jobs, for a total of 53,337 jobs in Lee County.
The first full week of May is annually recognized as National Travel and Tourism Week, a tradition first celebrated in 1984. Localized events are presented in cities, states and travel businesses nationwide to champion the power of travel. It was established as National Tourism Week when the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution in 1983 designating the week to be celebrated in May. In a White House ceremony, President Ronald Reagan signed a Presidential Proclamation urging citizens to observe the week with “the appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
Since its establishment, the U.S. travel community has collectively marked the event in a number of creative ways, from staging local rallies and conducting media outreach to securing proclamations and resolutions from local legislative bodies.
