Orlando Tourism

When it comes to family vacation destinations, there are none that rival good ole Disney World. Today, the economy has hurt tourism in general and almost all families are suffering from some form of cutbacks and, unfortunately, family vacations usually go high on that list! But while many who would have taken a family trip to Disney World may not be able to do that because of finances, there are just as many out there who are scaling back a more high-priced family vacation and settling for a Disney trip instead. So while taking the family to London may be out of reach, spending a week in Florida is not. The net effect is that the tourism in Orlando is not as slow as would be expected.

Let’s analyze Orlando’s internationally driven tourism for a moment. Many countries, like Brazil for example, have a very strong tourism market that heads to Orlando during school vacations (July, for example, since it is their winter vacation and the weather is typically beautiful in Orlando that time of the year). So while domestic tourism in Orlando may be down, the same is not necessarily true when it comes to international tourism. Also keep in mind that the falling value of the US dollar actually helps international tourism by making it more affordable.

But Orlando tourism is not just limited to Disney World (though it is, by far, the largest attraction). Orlando has become a tourism hub that has been built around all of the traffic that comes for Disney and the options have become virtually limitless over the past few years. Today, you would have to make several trips to Orlando to even begin to scratch the surface when it comes to all of the available destinations.

Some of the most popular ones, aside from Disney attractions, are Gatorland, Wonder Works, Cape Canaveral – Kennedy Space Center, the local nearby beaches – especially Cocoa Beach and many other local attractions such as Sea World, Universal Studios, Wet ‘n Wild, Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf, Fun Spot Action Park, Skull Kingdom, Orange Tree Golf Club, Bill’s Airboat Adventures and many, many more.

The list is virtually endless and, as stated above, you would have to make many, many trips to Orlando to take advantage of them all. So what’s your best approach? Probably one of the best approaches is to create a theme for your vacation. If it is around intimate family time, then choose smaller venue attractions that allow you to spend more quality time with the people you love.

If you’re interested in an “exposure to Disney” theme, your list is pretty much established already. There are enough Disney-related destinations to last you a couple of weeks easily. Or perhaps you want to mix some education in with your family trip with the kids (always a great idea). In this case, smaller venue intriguing destinations such as Gatorland deserve a high spot on your list. The live shows at Gatorland can stimulate a lot of great questions/intrigue and the first-hand observation of live gators is something almost all of the kids love. So pick a theme and enjoy your stay: if there’s one recession-proof thing, it’s Orlando tourism.