Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” has dominated the top spot on the Billboard 200 for six consecutive weeks, and her song “Florida!!!” continues to soundtrack montages of Florida beaches, theme parks, and fantasy landscapes on TikTok and Instagram Reels.
The song, which Swift performed with singer Florence Welch, is her anthem of escapism. (Read the full review here.) Social media videos accompanying “Florida!!!” show locals boasting about their corner of the state, as well as tourists hopping on planes and lip-syncing to the song while on vacation.
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You should also honor your mother when you take her to Destin for Mother’s Day. #IYKYK #TAYLORSWIFT #swifties #florida #destin @Taylor Swift @Taylor Nation #fyp #foryou #mother #mothersday @Florence
♬ Florida!!! – Taylor Swift
Given the organic emergence of pro-Florida content, we wondered: Did this song and social posts influence even more people to head south?
Florida Tourism spokesperson Alison Hopkins said it’s too early to tell “whether there’s been a statewide impact in terms of visitation” because “the data isn’t out yet.” Because the song features the southern Florida city of Destin at the beginning, we called the local tourism office.
“We definitely saw a spike in searches for Destin throughout that weekend,” said Jennifer Adams, tourism director for Destin-Fort Walton Beach. “We got a lot of calls to our welcome center.”
Adams said Google searches for “Destin” spiked after the song’s release, though it’s hard to tell how much of that was from Swift fans or tourists wanting to learn more ahead of the busy summer season.
Adams said this isn’t the first time the area has featured in a pop culture assortment — Jason Aldean’s 2020 music video for “Got What I Got” was filmed on Destin’s beaches; “The Truman Show” was shot in nearby Seaside — but Swift’s song could have its biggest local impact yet.
“We haven’t used the song to promote it, but we did create our own social media accounts to thank her for her call…” Adams said. “We don’t have the marketing budget to get even a fraction of the reach she had by having us on the song, so we’re so grateful.”
Where will Swift be spending her time (and filming her TikToks) during her Destin vacation?
“On the beach. On the boat. On the harbor. On the sand,” Adams said. “You can’t help but be on a boat and hear music blasting. It’s a place where people can let loose, and that’s why they come here.”
