Fort Lauderdale Scores Two Top 10 National Travel Rankings!

City Named Among Most Popular and Affordable Summer Destinations!

Fort Lauderdale has earned two Top 10 national rankings that position our City as a
leading destination heading into the peak summer travel season.

Travel professionals at Huffington Post and Hopper.com, a national data-driven travel
research firm, named Fort Lauderdale a “Top 10 Most Popular Summer Destination.”
A team of travel experts examined billions of flight searches originating in the United
States to determine which cities were the most popular overall. 

Fort Lauderdale ranked #4 with more than 4 million searches, beating out stalwarts
including Honolulu, Denver, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami and Los Angeles. Travel
writers lauded our City for economical hotel deals, low-priced vacation packages,
below average airfares, and outstanding beaches! 

On the heels of being named one of the most popular summer destinations, financial
experts at SmartAsset.com ranked Fort Lauderdale as one of the “Top 10 Most
Affordable U.S. Travel Destinations.” A panel of analysts compared data on airfare,

hotel rates, car rentals and dining in 36 of the country's largest and most exciting cities to find the most affordable travel
destinations in the United States. Vacation costs for each city were calculated based on a three-day weekend stay for a
family of four.

Fort Lauderdale ranked as the #4 most affordable City, outpacing Albuquerque, New Mexico; Salt Lake City, Utah; Kansas
City, Missouri; Denver, Colorado; Jacksonville, Florida; and Phoenix, Arizona. We were at or near the top in three of the
four metrics measured, scoring well below the national averages for the costs of airfare, car rentals, and dining. 

This outstanding national recognition is certain to bolster our already thriving tourism industry that has seen 65
consecutive months of growth, record occupancy levels, unprecedented tourism tax revenue, and which is on pace to
eclipse the 15 million visitor mark by year end.

It also follows more great news on the economic front. During the second quarter, our unemployment rate dropped
below 5%, lower than both the state and national averages. We added 6,300 jobs in business and professional
services, along with 5,100 jobs in construction, which represented the most construction jobs added in any metropolitan
area in Florida. In addition, 4,300 jobs were created in leisure and hospitality, and 3,700 were added in both trade,
transportation and utilities (which includes retail), as well as in education and health services.

According to the Florida Department of Revenue, our year-over-year sales tax revenue has grown by 6.5 percent, well
ahead of national consumer spending which increased only 3.3 percent during the same period. Local economists see
the increase in sales tax revenue as a strong sign that our economy has turned the corner and is now improving faster
than the nation’s economy as a whole.

The forecast moving forward remains bright. Average annual wage growth in our area is expected to be 3.2 percent by
mid-2016, up from 2.2 percent a year ago. In addition, the average annual wage is expected to increase to $55,900,
the second-highest among all major metro areas in Florida. Employment is expected to grow at 2 percent with
construction and the professional and business sectors leading the way.

Finally, the Broward County Property Appraiser reports that the City of Fort Lauderdale’s property valuation came in 9.5%
higher than last year and our City saw the highest amount of new construction in the entire county with nearly $330 million
in new development. This marks the fourth consecutive year that our property values have climbed and is another strong
indication that our economy is right on track.

Looking ahead, we will remain focused on our Vision to work in partnership with our neighbors to enhance quality of
life and make Fort Lauderdale an outstanding place to live, work, play, visit, and raise a family.

Enjoy your summer!

I

John P. “Jack” Seiler
Mayor

The Landings & Bay Colony

8

Mayor’s Message

John P, “Jack” Seiler

Mayor, City of Fort Lauderdale

TLBC 15-4_Layout 1  7/7/15  10:59 AM  Page 8