Political Threats Force U.S. Tourism Boards to Examine Their Roles
Photo Credit: Tourism boards across the country are facing tough questions about their work and funding. Pictured are tourists in Miami, Florida. Skift / Dan Peltier
Skift Take
Tourism boards have taken on more functions in recent decades but promoting economic development has been a consistent theme for the sector since its beginnings. Convincing lawmakers that locals benefit from tourism marketing has become increasingly important for ensuring tourism boards' survival.
Tourism marketing funding in at least seven U.S. states is in jeopardy of getting reduced or cut altogether as destination marketing organizations face calls from state legislators and constituents to become more transparent with spending.
Visit Florida's debacle with Miami rapper Pitbull's $1 million contract with the state has rustled feathers throughout the destination marketing sector, led to the departure of three C-suite executives (including ex-CEO Will Seccombe who Skift spoke with earlier this month), and resulted in members of the Florida House of Representatives moving to eliminate the organization's funding.
But Visit Florida -- one of the top-funded tourism boards in the U.S. -- is only the latest example of a state tourism organization fighting for its existence.
Florida, Connecticut, and Massachusetts face tourism marketing budget cuts and Hawaii's state legislature proposed a bill last month to make the Hawaii Tourism Authority more transparent with how it
