A local business owner is speaking out against Visit Florida after the state-funded tourism agency removed the LGBTQ+ Travel section from its website.

Florida’s tourism marketing agency says the state’s tourism economy is well on the road to recovery.

“If we can beat those projections and recover a month, three months, maybe six months earlier, maybe, maybe more than what they’re predicting, that would mean that our economy here in Florida will recover that much faster,” Young continued. Domestic travel was down 29.7 percent last year, Canadian tourism was off 64.5 percent, and overseas visitors fell 70.4 percent. The state has seen an uptick in people driving to Florida, which has been a goal since last summer of Visit Florida. And there are several direct flights from those areas to a lot of different areas in our state,” Young said. Ron DeSantis has asked legislators to budget $50 million for Visit Florida for next fiscal year, the same as in the current year.

The next target audience for Visit Florida will be the West Coast, expanding earlier efforts that targeted travelers from East Coast cities who could drive or take short flights to Florida. “Think California, Oregon and Washington state,” Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said during an online meeting Friday of the Visit Florida Executive Committee. Ad“My phone’s been blowing up about the president’s COVID task force wanting Florida to shut down all bars, restaurants and gyms,” said committee member Carol Dover, who is president and CEO of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. House Republican leaders in recent years have criticized spending by Visit Florida, which faced a renewed threat during the 2020 legislative session of being put out of business. AdIn addition to the $50 million in funding, lawmakers last year extended the authorization of Visit Florida to Oct. 1, 2023.

“Not only are we working on in-state travel, domestic travel, we’re also starting to dip our toes into international travel so that we can take advantage of the competitive advantage that we have right now,” Young said Wednesday during a video conference call with members of the Visit Florida Executive Committee. The TTG Florida Fest event, which attracted about 400 travel agents and tour operators in the United Kingdom, included panel discussions and classes about different aspects of Florida, such as potential wilderness adventures. At the start of October, Visit Florida expanded a roughly $13 million marketing effort toward East Coast regions considered short drives or flights to Florida. However, international marketing and travel will take longer as Europe is experiencing a surge in cases of the virus. “I think it would be very good for this part of the state (Central Florida) to be able to have that travel back.

In-state travel is an important first step in our long-term recovery plan, Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said during a news conference at The Daytona, Autograph Collection, a boutique hotel in Daytona Beach. We often hear people say that travelers know about our beaches, they know our theme parks. And second, and more importantly, is that Florida is more than just beaches and theme parks. And our job at Visit Florida is to tell the story of the whole Florida to the entire world.Money for the ads was held over from the spring, when the virus halted the agencys marketing efforts. Last week, DeSantis backed major theme parks in the state increasing their capacity, as attendance is down more than 80 percent from previous years.

Senate Commerce and Tourism Chairman Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, backed legislation during the 2019 legislative session to keep Visit Florida operating as it came under fire from the House. The compromise also ensured that Visit Florida would remain in business through at least June 30. Meanwhile, House Speaker Jose Oliva has dismissed concerns that tourism would be hurt if Visit Florida went away. "These companies write checks to Visit Florida, not the other way around," Young said. "While it is probably obvious that these companies don't rely upon Visit Florida to succeed, they do find tremendous value in the umbrella brand that our organization provides."

DeSantis said the money being awarded in Bay County will help the area rebuild needed housing for workers. Panama City and other communities have grappled with housing and worker shortages after many homes were destroyed or severely damaged in the storm. We need the folks to be working right here in Bay County.Michael damaged 60 percent of the homes around Panama City, eliminating 43 percent of the low-income housing. The Triumph Gulf Coast Trust Fund handles money Florida receives in annual settlement payments from BP over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. On Thursday, the Florida Democratic Party called out DeSantis, state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Trump and said more relief is needed for the region.