Cruise ship spending accounts for $7.3 billion in Florida

Published November 05, 2015

Cruising related tourism is major boon to Florida's economy. (iStock)

Some 9 million plus cruise ship passengers that came through Florida in 2013 accounted for over $7.3 billion in direct spending.

That's according to Florida TaxWatch. an independent nonprofit public policy research group.

In a report released last week, the group said that Florida has three of the most-visited cruise terminals in the world-- Port Everglades, Port Miami and Port Canaveral --which accounts for 62 percent of all cruise embarkations in the country.

“Tourism is one of the top providers of jobs for Floridians and a serves as a major source of tax revenue for the state,” the report summarizes, noting that the cruise industry “is uniquely suited to take advantage of Florida’s natural attributes.”

Florida Tax Watch says that the state is responsible for more than a third of all cruise-industry direct spending in the United States, with the average family spending more than $260 a day in Miami alone.

In addition to cruising, the report indicated that many travelers stay in Florida before or after their seafaring trip.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/cruise-ship-spending-accounts-for-7-3-billion-in-florida