New virgin flights from belfast boost florida tourism boom

The route, which will see flights scheduled between Belfast International Airport and Orlando over June and July 2014, links Northern Ireland's largest city with Florida's top tourist hotspot. A spokesperson for the company also suggested positive ramifications for the establishment of the new route, commenting: "We keep our flying programme under continuous review and if the new services are a success we could look to continue them in the future."

Recent figures show that Florida's popularity is still on the up, with last year a record year for the state's tourism: Visit Florida reported an increase of 3.5% in tourist numbers in 2013 compared with 2012, bringing the total to 94.7 million visitors.

The aim for 2014 is to hit the magical 100 million tourists figure, through both the increased access and a whole host of exciting new attractions. Indeed, Walt Disney World opened its newest attraction last month , the 'Seven Dwarfs Mine Train' in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom, and plans to open 'Pandora: The Land of Avatar' in 2017.
 
Universal Orlando Resort has followed suit with the expansion of the exceptionally popular 'Wizarding World of Harry Potter' from its current home at Islands of Adventure to its sister park of Universal Studios Florida, next door.

Philip Button, Managing Director of specialist property investment firm Brookes & Co, says that the endlessly growing tourism industry is good news for buy-to-let investors. Indeed, the company has recently launched 17 exclusive, fully tenanted condos, available from $69,500.

"Florida's huge population means that demand for rental accommodation is consistently strong," comments Button. "The changes to the property market over the past six to eight years have also meant that many people have moved from owner occupied accommodation to private rented sector properties. Clearly this creates plentiful opportunities for overseas investors looking to profit from the US market."