Don’t look now, but Florida tourism is dying a slow and uneventful death under Gov. Ron DeSantis and his divisive political policies.
Politics :
With us finally in the thick of the dog days of summer and the COVID pandemic officially behind us, one would think American and foreign visitors would be flocking to the Sunshine State in droves just to make up for lost time. Additionally, one would expect hotels to be oversold with conventions, beaches overflowing with sun worshippers, and theme parks overcrowded with thrill seekers. However, one look at the current state of Florida tourism proves that such expectations couldn’t be further from the truth.
To put it bluntly, Florida tourism has taken a noticeable and critical nose-dive — and it’s all thanks to the current governor and Republican presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis.
According to Forbes, a substantial number of conventions and conferences have flat-out refused to hold their events in Florida due to DeSantis and his political stance against LGBTQ rights, gun control, minority issues, and more.
To put the dire state of Florida tourism into perspective, consider the following facts:
- The Orlando Sentinel reported that at least 5 groups have canceled planned events in Orange County (home of Orlando).
- Tourism officials in Fort Lauderdale reported that at least 6 organizations pulled out of holding their events in Broward County, due to concerns related to DeSantis and his policies.
- The Game of Thrones convention (Con of Thrones) canceled its event due to “the increasingly anti-humanitarian legislation and atmosphere in Florida.”
- The National Society of Black Engineers moved its 2024 convention from Orlando to Atlanta, saying the state’s political climate “seeks to undermine what we stand for.”
- The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning moved its conference from Miami to Chicago. The group said it would rather pay a “steep penalty” for moving the event than ignore “significant concerns” expressed by its members about holding the event in Florida — particularly in light of the state’s controversial educational policies targeting diversity initiatives.
“We lost this program due to political climate,” Visit Lauderdale said of a decision by the Supreme Council of America Inc., Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite Masons to cancel its meeting (and 855 hotel rooms) that was scheduled for next August.
When asked for a reason why they were scrapping plans, one organizer simply said: “Governor DeSantis.”
The 2024 National Family and Community Engagement and Community Schools Conference canceled its event and more than 2,000 hotel rooms along with it.
“The group decided to pull out of Florida due to concerns about what the Governor is doing with education/schools” and his decision to “run in 2024,” a spokesperson said. “They do not want to lose attendees due to this.”
The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association moved its 3,000-person conference in 2026 to Milwaukee due to the “unfriendly political environment in Florida.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Disneyworld, which has traditionally attracted massive crowds on Memorial Day and The 4th of July (due to its electric Parade and spectacular fireworks show), has been a veritable ghost town most of the summer.
The Magic Kingdom was so empty on Independence Day, one family boasted about being able to walk up to any ride they wanted and board almost immediately.
Magic Kingdom on a Saturday evening in summer. 🤷 pic.twitter.com/xhfyZKBleM
— Ben (@pieps86) July 9, 2023
According to The Wall Street Journal, the canceled conventions and low visitation data could cost the economy of a single county in Florida more than $20 million — taking into account lost revenue from hotel bookings, transportation, food, and other travel costs.
“From an economic standpoint, this is very harmful,” Stacy Ritter, president of the Visit Lauderdale tourist organization explained. “We saw in 2020 what happens when visitors stay away — people lose their jobs. By not coming here, the residents of our county, whose values align with these organizations, get hurt. Minority, women, and LGBTQ+ businesses rely on visitors for their existence. Staying away hurts those very people.”
For his part, DeSantis expectedly downplayed the Florida tourism decline and said via a spokesperson that the cancelations were “nothing more than a media-driven stunt.”
And this is the man who wants to be President of the United States and do to the country what he’s done to Florida??
OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
DeSantis responsible for Florida tourism decline.
And I’d bet there are more cancelations to come!
DeSantis really is right in line with the population of voters who make up most of the Repub “base” since, at least, 2016. The “blame everybody but myself” club.
He’s done absolutely nothing but sabotage his own campaign since launching it…and the fact that so many Repub elites fell for that far-right clown tells you how desperate they are to take down Trump..Lol