This State Just Set a New Tourism Record

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline.

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Boston.com, TripAdvisor, Buzzfeed, Jetsetter, Oyster, Airfarewatchdog, and others.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "Earplugs. A good pair has saved my sleep and sanity many times!"

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro.

Travel Motto: "Don't be boring."

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle (when the first class private suite isn't available)."

E-mail her at cteel@smartertravel.com.

See recent posts by Caroline Morse Teel

Dreaming of a trip to sunny Florida? You’re definitely not alone. The first nine months of this year (from January to September 2018) saw the highest number of visitors to the state ever.

According to Visit Florida, a record-breaking 30.7 million tourists visited Florida during that period, up more than 10 percent over the same time in 2017.

About 27.5 million of those visitors were from the United States, with the remainder coming from international destinations. Florida’s 18 major airports also saw increased traffic during the same time frame, with 21.9 million passengers transiting through.

Vacationers arrived to enjoy the Sunshine State’s beaches, amusement parks, and cities, and were not deterred by the sargassum seaweed invasion or recent hurricanes.

Are you planning a trip to Florida in the near future? Tell us where you’re headed in the comments!

More from SmarterTravel:

We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.