May 15--The year is off to a record start for Florida's tourism industry.

In the first quarter of 2013, the state welcomed more visitors than in any other quarter in history, according to preliminary numbers released Wednesday by Visit Florida.

Between January and March, 26 million people visited Florida. That's a 4.7 percent increase over the same time in 2012.

Of those tourists, 21.8 million were domestic, 1.5 million visited from Canada and 2.7 million were overseas visitors. Guests spent more for hotels, too: The average daily rate increased 6.8 percent compared to a year ago to $136.45 statewide.

Travel-related employment also hit a record, growing 3.4 percent to nearly 1.09 million jobs.

The state's official tourism marketing corporation also revised its earlier estimate of 2012 numbers. The total count of visitors last year was actually 91.4 million, not 89.3 million as initially reported.

___

(c)2013 The Miami Herald

Visit The Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services