(Trends Wide) — Florida has hundreds of miles of beaches, warm temperatures year-round, and is home to Walt Disney World, the world’s most famous theme park.
Tourism is one of the main engines of the state’s economy, with an estimated revenue of $101.6 billion, according to Visit Florida, and more than a million jobs. But the political battles of the past few months could cloud the Sunshine State’s tourist appeal.
A recent travel advisory from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), warning that “Florida is openly hostile to African-Americans,” is one of several advisories issued by minority groups. Equality Florida, the Human Rights Campaign and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) also warn against travel, citing a series of laws that demonstrate how the state is “hostile” to the communities they represent. .
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who officially announced his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday, has implemented a conservative agenda during his tenure, including bans on teaching critical race theory, sexual orientation and gender identity. in schools and the easing of restrictions on concealed carry weapons.
Although it’s too early to tell if the tense political climate will have a substantial impact on the state’s tourism industry, some travelers factor the warnings and policies into their decisions. Some industry experts say the warnings could be counterproductive and harm minority groups that make a living from tourism.
Travel boycotts often hit the wrong people”
Matt Berna, Intrepid Travel’s president and CEO of the Americas, said his company “unequivocally condemns the recent policies of Governor Ron DeSantis” but that Intrepid does not believe in boycotting travel.
“While the intent behind a boycott in Florida is to do the right thing, the reality is that travel boycotts often affect the wrong people. Travel boycotts often further isolate vulnerable people, including many of the BIPOC-owned businesses that we work closely with, who are dependent on those tourist dollars and who are not at all hostile in their approach to other BIPOC travelers.”
The organizations Future of Black Tourism, Blacks in Travel & Tourism and the Black Travel Alliance also criticized the travel advisories, saying they would hurt black businesses.
“The NAACP travel advisories contradict the efforts of industry organizations and initiatives, such as the Future of Black Tourism, Blacks in Travel & Tourism, the Black Travel Alliance, and others, who are intentionally working to level the playing field for small businesses. Black women in Florida and across the country,” they said in a joint statement Monday.
“The efforts of these organizations have led more black travelers and others to seek out and do business with black companies in the industry to help maintain and expand this underrepresented segment of travel and tourism,” the statement added.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for LGBTQ+ equality, criticized DeSantis and “his frantic appeal to extremists.” Robinson said the organization viewed issuing a notice as a duty “to provide guidance to our community.”
Walt Disney World and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came into conflict. (Credit: John Raoux/AP)
DeSantis called the ads “political maneuvering” Wednesday during the announcement of his candidacy on Twitter Spaces.
He said Florida just had its highest quarter for tourism in its history, “and our point of view is that we want everyone to succeed, regardless of skin color.”
Dana Young – president and CEO of Visit Florida, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation – echoed calling the ads a “political stunt” that would hurt Florida’s hard-working hospitality professionals.
“It is disappointing that partisan organizations attempt to weaponize travel for political gain. Travel advisories issued with flagrant misrepresentations of facts are a disservice to the traveling public and disrespectful to the incredibly diverse visitors and residents who pride themselves on call Florida home,” Young said in the statement, adding, “Florida had the highest market share of any state in the country among African-American tourists, at 21.4%” last year.
I have consciously stopped traveling to Florida
There are some would-be visitors who are refusing to travel to Florida as long as DeSantis and his politics remain as they are.
David Wagner, from Pennsylvania, is one of them.
“Every week, there is new legislation more impactful than the last, and I am genuinely concerned about the legislative changes being pushed through by the Florida Governor’s office. These changes seem politically motivated and do not seem to align with the wishes of the majority of residents, and I have a big problem with this trend in general in our politics,” says Wagner.
“It is alarming to see more and more representative offices become partisan battlegrounds instead of serving the needs of the people. Although I love Miami and usually visit Florida three or four times a year, I have consciously stopped traveling to Florida for express my opposition.
While travel advisories may make headlines, there is no indication yet that they will translate into less tourist traffic on the ground.
In 2022, Florida welcomed 137.6 million visitors, the most in the state’s history, according to Visit Florida estimates. Last week, the governor’s office announced that the state attracted a record 37.9 million visitors between January and March 2023.
Scott Keyes, founder of Going.com, an airfare tracking site, says he hasn’t seen any impact so far on demand for flights to Miami or Orlando, both of which are among the top 10 US tourist destinations.
Ocean Drive, in Miami Beach, is a magnet for tourists. (Credit: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)
“Florida has experienced an insatiable demand for travel, especially in recent years, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change,” he says.
Plus, big destinations like Tampa and Orange County, where Orlando is located, are quick to mitigate the fallout by making it known that all tourists are welcome.
The day after the NAACP issued its notice, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor tweeted: “As the Mayor of Tampa, I can assure any and all who are considering visiting or relocating to Tampa that they will be greeted with the open arms. Diversity and inclusion are critical to making Tampa one of the largest and most welcoming cities in America. That will never change, no matter what happens in Tallahassee.”
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Similarly, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ office issued a statement stating, “Hate is never welcome here. We look forward to working with the NAACP to reassure them and others that Orange County is a caring, compassionate and welcoming community”.
Politics don’t help
Travel advisories make some minority communities more determined to travel to Florida.
Michael Galbe, a New York resident who booked his trip before the advisories were posted, said he never considered changing his plans.
“I especially feel like I want to be MORE open and proud in Miami to give visibility to the gay tourism dollar,” Galbe said.
But blows to the state’s tourism credentials may end up being more of a trickle than a flow, and they can fall on both sides of the political divide.
Pete Werner, owner of Dreams Unlimited Travel, an Orlando-based Disney-focused travel company, says his business hasn’t seen many cancellations, but “the few that have been have been from people who don’t like politics.” from Disney, or from LGBTQ+ travelers who don’t want to spend their money in Florida.”
Disney has been in a longstanding dispute with the Florida governor since the company opposed legislation DeSantis signed last spring dubbed by critics the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. It restricted the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
Students hold a rally in front of an Orange County School Board meeting on May 24, 2022, in Orlando, Florida. (Credit: Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS/Getty Images)
Werner sees the travel warnings as political hyperbole on both sides, but says “politics don’t help.”
Werner attributes most of the decline in bookings at Disney World to the company’s price hikes, rather than politics, because its Disney cruise bookings have doubled since last year.
Where Werner does see cause for concern is among international visitors, who he says are hurt by rising prices and a strong dollar, and who have raised concerns about gun violence and lax gun laws. from Florida.
However, as a Florida resident, Werner says nothing has changed. “I’m gay, living in Orlando since 1998, and while I don’t feel very welcoming or accepting of my government, my life on the ground hasn’t changed.”
“Worry about what might happen next”
Other Floridians agree they aren’t seeing big changes in tourism yet, but some are concerned about where the state might go.
Kristen Panebianco, a 31-year-old woman who lives in Miami, says she thinks the travel advisories “are not so much about minority groups being in more danger in Florida, but about organizations taking a stand against a point of extremist views that seems to be gaining a foothold in the state.
He explains how DeSantis’ crackdown on things like drag shows — through his signing of SB 143 — diverts attention from the real issues at stake in the state, like gun laws. “Men disguised as women on the street are not dangerous to children and families, but guns are.”
“What makes Miami especially special is how diverse and eclectic it is. People are concerned that there is a small minority of people making decisions that are not necessarily representative of the state, trying to whitewash it, and there are concerns about what what will happen next, especially when it comes to schools and legislation,” added Panebianco.
African-American travel blogger Jameela Malcolm, who lives in Fort Lauderdale and blogs about places to see around the state, says she hasn’t seen any impact on her business so far.
Although she is concerned about how these advisories could affect her community, she is determined that it does not affect her ability to travel.
Malcolm says he wants to encourage others to follow his example and come “explore the diverse communities and cultures that make Florida a beautiful place.”
