Miami's visitors now want two of everything

Florida's top tourist attraction is Disney World. But what's the state's second-biggest visitor destination? It's Miami's Sawgrass Mills, one of the biggest shopping malls in the United States. And two thirds of its shoppers are now Latin Americans.

The weak US dollar, combined with Latin America's fast-growing economies, means that tourists from the south are buying everything from Hollister T-shirts to apartments in the trendy South Beach area. Since the start of 2009, the Brazilian real has risen by 39 per cent against the dollar, the Chilean peso by 32 per cent and Colombia's and Uruguay's pesos by almost 25 per cent each.

"Latin Americans are benefiting from the strength of their currencies, and that is accelerating investments and spending in Miami," João Medeiros of Brazil's Itau Bank, which has its US headquarters in Miami, told the Financial Times. "People are buying second residences and using Miami as a hub for several other foreign investments," he added.