TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and St. Petersburg are amongst several Florida cities which have long Top travel destinations within the USA for LGBTQ+ tourists, so it got here as a surprise this week when travelers learned that Florida's tourism marketing agency quietly removed the “LGBTQ Travel” section from its website sometime in the previous few months.
Business owners who serve LGBTQ+ tourists in Florida said Wednesday that that is the most recent attempt by state authorities to erase the LGBTQ+ community. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis previously championed a bill banning classes on sexual orientation and gender identity and supported a ban on gender-affirming take care of minors and a law is meant to maintain children away from drag shows.
“It's just disgusting to see this,” said Keith Blackburn, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “They seem to want to erase us.”
NBC News first reported on the change on Visit Florida's website, stating that despite the removal of this section, a search still shows some listings for LGBTQ+-friendly places.
John Lai, Visit Florida's chief executive officer, didn’t reply to an email in search of comment Tuesday. Dana Young, CEO and president of Visit Florida, didn’t reply to a voicemail message Wednesday, and the agency's public relations director didn’t respond either.
Visit Florida is a public-private partnership between the state of Florida and the state's tourism industry. The state pays the quasi-public agency about $50 million annually from two tourism and economic development funds.
Florida is one of the crucial popular U.S. states for tourists, and tourism is one in every of its largest industries. In 2023, nearly 141 million tourists visited Florida, with out-of-state visitors contributing greater than $102 billion to Florida's economy.
Before the change, the LGBTQ+ section of Visit Florida's website stated: “Florida's beaches, warm weather and myriad activities provide a sense of freedom – attracting people of all orientations, but are especially attractive to the gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance.”
Blackburn said the change and other anti-LGBTQ+ policies from Tallahassee make it harder for him to advertise tourism in South Florida because he encounters potential travelers or tour operators who say they don't wish to do business within the state.
Last yr, for instance, several civil rights groups published a Travel advice for Florida, and said that the policies advocated by DeSantis and Florida lawmakers were “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ people.”
However, visitors also needs to remember that many Florida cities have highly inclusive policies that include gay public officials and LGBTQ businesses, and people cities don’t reflect state government policies, Blackburn added.
“It's difficult when stories like this come out and the state does these things and we hear people calling for a boycott,” Blackburn said. “On one level, it's embarrassing to have to explain why people should come to South Florida and our destination when the state does these things.”
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