State: Number of Florida visitors dropped only slightly in 2009

An estimated 80.3 million people visited Florida in 2009, according to preliminary figures, representing a 0.8 percent decline from the year before. It's a sign that visitation has held up "extraordinarily well" in the economic downturn, but Visit Florida said that travelers are spending less.

"The good news is that total visitation was relatively steady and more than 80 million travelers chose Florida as their destination last year," said Will Seccombe, Visit Florida's chief marketing officer. "The challenge is that we have increased competition as a destination and travelers are spending less."