Overseas visitors in Florida: Cape Coral ranks as Top 10 ‘most popular’ destination

Mark H. Bickel, Fort Myers News-Press
·1 min read
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A sunset in Cape Coral is second to none in Florida.
A sunset in Cape Coral is second to none in Florida.

We love lists. Especially lists that include places we know and love.

Cape Coral frequently appears on "best places to" lists, so it is not surprising that this Southwest Florida city with a population now over 200,000, and known for its canals and burrowing owls, showed up recently on another list that will likely encourage even more people to visit.

The folks at the website Trips to Discover crunched some data in March and revealed Cape Coral is No. 9 on the Top-10 places to visit in Florida, specifically for overseas visitors. Miami came in at No. 1 with 2,759,000 overseas visitors. Nearby Naples is No. 6 (84,000).

Based on 2021 data and before Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida on Sept. 28, 2022, the website reports Florida is the No. 1 most visited state in the U.S. by overseas tourists. The report said more than 4 million overseas travelers visited the Sunshine State in 2021, an estimated 44.6% of the nation’s total that year. The data for the report comes from the International Trade Administration’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO).

Using NTTO data, the Trips to Discover team found the 10 most-visited metropolitan areas in Florida as ranked by the total estimated overseas visitors to each city in 2021 (excluding Mexico and Canada).

More: Crumbl Cookies to open in Cape Coral this week: 5 things to know

The Top-10 list

  • Miami

  • Orlando

  • Fort Lauderdale

  • Tampa

  • West Palm Beach

  • Naples

  • Jacksonville

  • North Port

  • Cape Coral

  • Key West

What they are saying about Cape Coral

Overseas visitors: 53,000

The Cape Coral, Florida, metro is a home base peninsula for tourists to explore the vast stretches of islands nearby. The waters near Pine Island and Sanibel Island provide some of the best deep-sea fishing in Florida. The snow-white sands of Fort Myers Beach entice travelers to relax or play by engaging in one of the many watersports offered on the barrier island, like parasailing, kayaking and wave runners. It may be No. 9 in the state, but the Cape Coral, Florida, metro drew more overseas visitors than San Antonio, Baltimore and Nashville, Tennessee, in 2021.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral Florida ranks in top 10 in for overseas visitors