DeSantis: Latest tourist numbers higher than before pandemic

City of Miami skyline. Photo: City of Miami on Instagram. Photographer: Visuals by Luis (@visuals.by.luis on Instagram). (Visuals by Luis, Courtesy of Visuals by Luis, LGMEDIAGROUP.CO.)

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says the number of tourists coming to the Sunshine State in the last quarter of 2021 surpassed the visitor count in the same quarter before the start of the pandemic.

Florida had 30.8 million tourist visits between last October and December, a slight increase over the fourth quarter in 2019.

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It was the second consecutive quarter in which Florida tourist visits surpassed those from before the start of the coronavirus’s spread in the U.S. in early 2020.

DeSantis has campaigned against mandates that other states are employing to fight COVID-19.

On Tuesday, he credited that policy with the influx of tourists.