Miami is booming: new splendor for hotels and record numbers in the cruise port!

Miami is booming: new splendor for hotels and record numbers in the cruise port!

Miami remains a key tourist destination thanks to its impressive cruise port and a variety of new developments in the hospitality sector. Port Miami is the largest cruise port in the world, recording a total of 8,233,056 passenger movements in the 2023/24 fiscal year ending September 3. This represents an increase of 14.5 percent compared to 2023, further underlining the importance of this port.

The cruise lines that use Port Miami include renowned providers such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages. Despite international challenges, Miami remains a hotspot for travelers and impresses not only with its cruise offerings, but also with numerous new hotels.

Expansion of the tourist offer

The iconic Shelborne By Proper, an oceanfront hotel, is currently undergoing a modernization that promises to further enhance the tourist experience in Miami. This expansion of offerings shows that Miami is not resting on its laurels but is continually working to increase its appeal to vacationers.

The numbers speak for themselves: Miami serves over 8.2 million passengers annually, and the port has the record for the most passengers in a single day, with 67,594 arrivals on April 9, 2023. Eight cruise ships arrived in Miami that day, impressively demonstrating the port's capacity and influence.

Competition in Florida

Although Miami is the leading port in the region, other nearby ports are also experiencing notable growth. Port Canaveral in Orlando reported 7,592,535 passenger movements, up 11.2 percent, while Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale reported 4,010,919 passenger movements, a notable increase of nearly 39 percent. This development shows that overall interest in cruising in Florida is increasing.

The three major cruise ports in Florida achieved overall economic growth of 17.7 percent between 2023 and 2024. Compared to 2019, there was an increase of 30.2 percent. These numbers suggest that the cruise sector is on the road to recovery, and Miami is at the forefront of this development.