February 28, 2023
The transformation of Fort Lauderdale into a global destination for business and leisure travel has been in motion for decades. DowntownFTL has seen a 35% increase in domestic visitors over the past year and has added 1,100 new hotel rooms since 2018. All the growth in downtown has helped to elevate the standing of our city, enhancing Fort Lauderdale as a destination for all kinds of visitors. Airlines are taking notice and are expanding their presence.
Connecting with New Hubs
One way to track the future growth of Fort Lauderdale into an sophisticated luxury destination for visitors is the expansion of routes and scheduled seats to Fort Lauderdale Hollywood-International Airport. Access to Fort Lauderdale is expanding, creating opportunities to showcase the evolution of DowntownFTL to other notable markets.
FLL, located just minutes from DowntownFTL, saw about 32 million passengers in 2022.
The airport and our city is poised to capitalize on several major trends and announcements attracting passengers to our region:
JetBlue is adding 90 flights to Fort Lauderdale, bringing its grand total of daily flights to FLL to 250 per day. 30 new routes will added to destinations in Europe and to growing cities like Tallahassee, Minneapolis, Memphis, and Savannah.
El Al recently relocated its U.S. headquarters to Greater Fort Lauderdale and has introduced flights connecting Fort Lauderdale to Tel Aviv. This expansion strengthens our city's ties with one of the world's leading innovation hubs.
Norse Atlantic Airways is adding 3 weekly flights to London, building off the addition of routes recently to Berlin, Germany and Oslo, Norway.
Rise of Bleisure Travel
The pandemic contributed to the rise of bleisure travel. Visitors increasingly choosing Fort Lauderdale, taking advantage of our unique lifestyle and the wealth of remote work opportunities available in DowntownFTL.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, "business travelers who extend their trips for a few extra days so they can take in local attractions — are making their presence felt as the COVID-19 pandemic fades and companies again underwrite the cost of sending employees out of town on business."