Tourism, a spearhead
Tourism is Florida's largest industry. In 2016, it brought $111.7 billion to the state's economy. Among the driving forces of this industry are of course the theme parks in the Orlando area, and especially Walt Disney World, which welcomes 16 million visitors per year and employs 70,000 people. The oldest of its four parks, the Magic Kingdom, opened in 1971, is the most visited Disney park in the world. Another important tourist attraction is the Everglades. This unique swampy area in the world is visited by about 1 million visitors per year. Threatened by climate change, the Everglades will be injected with 1.1 billion dollars by the Biden administration. Cruises also benefit a lot to Florida tourism, Miami is the first port in the world in terms of passenger traffic with 4 million cruise passengers.
Florida, agricultural land
It is not always imagined, but Florida is a fertile agricultural land and agriculture is a major part of the state's economy, along with tourism. Fruit production is extremely dynamic, particularly in the south and center of the state. Florida produces 75% of the US orange crop. It also ranks first in the nation for grape production and second for sugarcane and horticulture. Florida has also developed cattle production and is home to 9 of the top 25 beef producers in the United States. Meat is Florida's number one agricultural export internationally. It also ranks third in the nation for horse breeding. Other products include fruits (mango, papaya, pineapple, avocado), vegetables, fish, soybeans and corn.
A state
Another story that few people know is that it was in Boca Raton, north of Miami, that IBM created the very first PC(Personal Computer) in 1981. This technological legacy lives on today, and Florida is home to more than 27,000 companies in the sector, employing 220,000 people. This makes it the fourth largest state in the United States. Since the pandemic, the tech boom has been reinforced by the arrival of Californians from Silicon Valley. More and more companies are choosing to combine the good life with a favorable technological ecosystem. PayPal co-founder Bill Harris has announced that he will create a start-up in Miami, Nirvana Technology. Other industry giants such as Spotify and Microsoft have also opened offices here. Another important advantage: the state has no income tax. Could South Florida be on its way to becoming a new Silicon Valley?
Head in the stars
In 1959, NASA established the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Meritt Island, on the east coast of Florida, now known as the Space Coast. In 1961, President Kennedy announced his intention to send American astronauts to the Moon by the end of the 1960s. This will be done from the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 1969. The site is still active today and serves as a launch pad for all NASA rockets and satellites. In September 2021, the Falcon 9 rocket of Space X - a private company partnering with NASA - was launched and took four tourists into space for the first time. The Kennedy Space Center has been open to the public since 1966. More broadly, Florida is the world leader in aerospace and the latest technologies and research associated with it. It is home to more than 2000 companies.
An increasingly conservative state
The thorny environmental issue
Since 2018, serial problems related to the environment have been making the news in Florida. First there was Irma, which hit the Keys in 2017, but whose property damage (no casualties were reported) was ultimately relatively limited. Hurricane Michael, which hit northwest Florida in October 2018, was much more destructive: it was the strongest since 1851. The frequency of these hurricanes in the Sunshine State is believed to be due to global warming, as the increasingly warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean are said to favor the transformation of tropical storms into hurricanes. Another major problem is red tides. Due to a toxic microorganism, the state's waters were heavily polluted in 2018 and 2021, creating a toxic environment for local residents. Florida is also affected by rising waters, which threatens the coasts but also the islands of the Keys and the Everglades.
