Many beach towns are popular tourist destinations, particularly during winter and spring break. Twenty-three million tourists visited Florida beaches in 2000, spending $22 billion. The public has a right to beach access under the public trust doctrine, but some areas have access effectively blocked by private owners for a long distance.
Amusement parks, especially in the Greater Orlando area, make up a significant portion of tourism. The Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited vacation resort in the world with over 50 million annual visitors, consisting of four theme parks, 27 themed resort hotels, 9 non–Disney hotels, two water parks, four golf courses and other recreational venues.
Other major theme parks in the area include Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa.
Agriculture and Fishing:
Agriculture is the second largest industry in the state. Citrus fruit, especially oranges, are a major part of the economy, and Florida produces the majority of citrus fruit grown in the United States. In 2006, 67% of all citrus, 74% of oranges, 58% of tangerines, and 54% of grapefruit were grown in Florida. About 95% of commercial orange production in the state is destined for processing, mostly as orange juice, the official state beverage.
Other products include sugarcane, strawberries, tomatoes and celery. The state is the largest producer of sweet corn and green beans for the U.S.
In 2009, fishing was a $6 billion industry, employing 60,000 jobs for sports and commercial purposes.
Industry:
Florida is the leading state for sales of powerboats. Boats sales totaled $1.96 billion in 2013.
Mining:
Phosphate mining, concentrated in the Bone Valley, is the state’s third-largest industry. The state produces about 75% of the phosphate required by farmers in the United States and 25% of the world supply, with about 95% used for agriculture (90% for fertilizer and 5% for livestock feed supplements) and 5% used for other products.
Transportation:
Highways:
Florida’s highway system contains 1,473 mi of interstate highway, and 9,934 mi of non-interstate highway, such as state highways and U.S. Highways. Florida’s interstates, state highways, and U.S. Highways are maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation.
Florida’s primary interstate routes include:
Airports:
Florida’s seven large hub and medium hub airports, as classified by the FAA, are the following:
Miami International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood Int’l Airport, Tampa International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, Palm Beach International Airport, and Jacksonville International Airport.
Intercity rail:
Brightline is a diesel–electric higher-speed rail system being developed by All Aboard Florida, a wholly owned subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries (FECI). Currently service is only from Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach.
The first phase is planned to connect Miami to West Palm Beach through express intercity service, with a stop at Fort Lauderdale. The complete project is intended to connect Miami and South Florida to Orlando, which requires a new line westward from the coast.