Visit Florida’s decision to remove dozens of pages highlighting its LGBTQ-friendliness—including a landing page calling Florida beaches “a draw for people of all orientations, but especially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance”—has stirred up Florida residents, the LGBTQ community and the media. And last week the attention forced its CEO to respond.
“It’s fairly simple,” said Dana Young at the annual Governors Conference on Tourism in Tampa last week. “Visit Florida is a taxpayer-funded organization and, as such, our marketing strategy, our materials and our content must align with the state.”
Visit Florida is a public-private partnership between the state of Florida and the state’s tourism industry, to which the state contributes about $50 million a year. But other states—and indeed, even parts of Florida—were happy to roll out their welcome mats to the LGBTQ community.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the first openly gay man elected governor in the United States, added this post to social media amid the controversy:
Hello gay tourists! Since Florida doesn’t want you, come on over to explore what Colorado has to offer! Though I tried the link just now and it doesn’t work).
In Colorado, we really don’t care about who you date we just appreciate you supporting our economy and spending money in our great stores and restaurants. And you’ll have a gay old time!”
Illinois posted (Your Official Guide to Illinois Travel | Enjoy Illinois):
Lack of love in the Sunshine State?
Come to Illinois
Plan your LGBTQIA adventure. Take notes, Florida.”
Even within Florida itself, FloridaKeys.com still has its LGBTQ-friendly section highlighted on the landing page The Florida Keys LGBTQ Vacations & Gay Key West (fla-keys.com, noting that Key West “is internationally known as a gay mecca, attracting more than 250,000 visitors to this top LGBTQ vacation spot that celebrates openness and pride — the entire destination is renowned for its welcoming and accepting attitude. ‘One Human Family’ became Key West’s official philosophy in 2000 — and was soon adopted by Monroe County, which encompasses the entire Florida Keys island chain.”
But many are put off by the state’s politics. Last year, several civil rights groups issued a travel advisory for Florida, calling its lawmakers “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.”
“Why harm the businesses that help your communities? The state is controlling who they want to come to the state by eliminating information of which the destinations were proud,” meetings consultant Joan Eisenstodt told TRO, noting that an estimated 1.4 million LGBTQI+ business owners contribute $1.7 trillion to the US economy annually, and the LGBTQI+ community spends more than $917 billion every year (https://www.forbes.com/…/lgbtqi-businesses-contribute…/) – about $9 billion of it in Miami-Dade.
