Visit Florida’s Future Is Up in the Air (Again)
Photo Credit: An ad promoting destinations in Florida is shown in Toronto's St. Andrew's Station in January. Visit Florida
Skift Take
Destination marketing money is again a political football in Florida, a state that 126 million people visited last year. As governments around the country examine their stance on publicly funded self-promotion, will the Sunshine State stay the course?
The Sunshine State's official tourism marketing body is finding itself — once again — with clouds on the horizon.
Visit Florida is stuck in the middle of a budget battle between the state's legislative bodies, a familiar position. But there's a new twist this year: The organization's very existence is at risk, with authorization scheduled to expire on Oct. 1 of this year.
"It makes our job a little harder," said Dana Young, who became the organization's president and CEO in January. "Because rather than just dealing with the budget, we actually need to affirmatively pass a piece of legislation."
Executives and board members of Visit Florida say they are optimistic that there will be a solution before the state's legislative session ends on May 3, and they and industry stakeholders have been pleading their case to lawmakers.
The number of visitors reached a record in 2018, increasing 6 percent to 126.1 million. Visit Florida says that out-of-state visitors spent almost $
