Canada Replacing UK as Number One International Market for Orlando

The Orlando/Orange County CVB is suggesting that Canada is about to take the place of the UK as the area’s top international tourism market. The latest data released by the bureau indicates that visitation from the UK is expected to drop 16.4 percent this year, from 959,000 travelers in 2008 to 801,000 in 2009. Even though the number of visitors from Canada, which had been the Orlando region's second-largest international market, is expected to decline, it won’t be as much as the drop-off from the UK. The CVB projects that the number of Canadian tourists will slide 8.5 percent, from 940,000 to 860,000 in 2009. It also expects the difference between UK and Canadian visitors to grow in 2010, when it says that travel from the UK will fall another 2.9 percent while travel from Canada will increase 5.4 percent.