ORLANDO, Fla. — In 2008, when American businesses were almost universally hoarding cash in a struggle to survive the financial crisis, Harris Rosen made a different call.

Instead of pulling back, Mr. Rosen, the biggest independent hotel owner in this city built on tourism, hit the gas. He committed to spend $130 million to renovate his seven hotels, then added more international marketing staff members to sell them to tour groups from faraway places like Brazil and South Korea.

Today, Florida’s economy is on the rise again, shaking off the dead weight of a housing bust that hit Florida harder than almost any other state in the country. So far this year, Florida has led the country in job growth and it has chalked up the third-best record over the last 12 months.

The roots of the comeback can be found in decisions like Mr. Rosen’s.

In contrast to American business in general, which slashed spending after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, tourist operations all through Central Florida invested through the downturn, giving operators something new to sell to visitors when consumer spending rebounded.