International Travel Opens Up to Orlando

“I miss Disney at Christmas”

“I miss my holiday home in Celebration”

For the past 20+ months, these were things I heard on an almost daily basis from our UK, EU and Canadian clients. Now on November 8th, international travel will begin again. The Biden administration’s plan to open the US borders (which includes proof of covid vaccination for entry) will have a massive impact to our local economy.

White House spokesman Kevin Munoz confirmed the Nov. 8 date on Twitter, stating the policy “is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent.”

International Travel Means So Much to Orlando

There was a time where my personal real estate business was 20%+ from international clients. It wasn’t uncommon to deal with clients from Russia, Ireland, Toronto, and Brazil, all in the same week. Many of these clients decided to sell their holiday home when travel looked like it would seemingly never open up again.

Tonight I reached out to my travel agents (and past clients) to ask how the news has affected their business today:

“Interest built at a much quicker rate than it ever had in the past. Clients from countries around the globe reached out to be put on a waiting list for when the borders reopened. With the recent news, we are working with clients from five international countries so far”.

– Dan Lowry, co-owner of Fantastical Vacations

Before covid, international travel made up 10% of Dan’s business. That went to zero for the past year and a half.

So much of Orlando’s economy is still steeped in tourism. While that’s starting to become more diverse, let’s face it, Orlando is the theme park capital of the world. We need international travel to allow us to thrive.

What’s next

There’s a few things I’ll be watching as travel to Orlando opens back up:

  • How will international travel affect our already very busy theme parks
  • Will more domestic travelers choose to travel elsewhere instead of Orlando?
  • Will our real estate market, which has seen a normalization over the past 30 days, see a strong bounce back?

Time will tell!

I’m curious what you think. Are you planning to travel to Orlando now that international travel is opening back up? Will you wait to see how things go first?

Posted by The Orlando Real on
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