Two years after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pushed through his controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, which regulates how Florida public schools can discuss sexual orientation and gender identity, the Sunshine State’s tourism organization removed its “LGBTQ Travel” section from its website.
In all, dozens of pages were removed from the Visit Florida website sometime between June 1 and July 4, according to the Wayback Machine, which archives old pages from the internet. Representatives from Visit Florida did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
Prior to this summer, Visit Florida’s website included a LGBTQ landing page trumpeting “SUNSHINE FOR ALL,” boasting of the “sense of freedom” in the state and billing its beaches as “a draw for people of all orientations, but especially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance.”
“Whether you’re a couple seeking a romantic getaway or a modern family searching for kid-friendly fun, here are some LGBTQ-friendly destinations for you, throughout the Sunshine State,” the now-removed landing page said.
Gone are the pages touting Florida’s top 10 gay beaches and most LGBTQ-friendly destinations. Ditto for those recommending LGBTQ road trips and Pride events. The deletion of content was first reported by NBC News.
Tourism is the Florida’s number one industry. Last year, the Sunshine State welcomed 140.6 million out-of-state visitors, marking an increase of 2.3% from 2022’s record-breaking figure. Florida’s reliance on tourism dollars makes the move to eliminate LGBTQ content from the Visit Florida website all the more of a head-scratcher. The LGBTQ+ tourism market is worth over $200 billion annually, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
“From a business standpoint, it makes zero sense,” says Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale, arguably the most inclusive destination in the Sunshine State. Ritter estimates that about 15% of the Greater Fort Lauderdale’s tourists identify as LGBTQ+. “And it’s about a billion-dollar-a-year industry here because they spend one and a half times more money than non-aligned-LGBTQ visitors,” she says.
“Erasing an entire segment of people is not a marketing campaign,” continues Ritter, who first became aware that Visit Florida removed its LGBTQ section several weeks ago when one of her colleagues brought it to her attention. “It’s a culture war. They’ve decided to inject themselves in the culture war, which is bad for business.”
In 2023, Canada was the top international source market for Florida, representing 28% of all international visitors to the state, according to a Visit Florida report. Yet last year, Canada updated its travel advisory for the U.S., warning that “some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect” LGBTQ people traveling in the country.
“Continuing to marginalize underserved communities is a philosophy in Tallahassee, and it’s cruel and mean spirited. There’s no economic policy behind it that says it’s beneficial to Floridians,” Ritter says, adding that she wishes other Florida destinations would speak out.
Ritter says most of the state’s tourism officials just want to keep their heads down. Last year, after the NAACP put out a travel advisory telling Black tourists not to visit Florida, she says she tried to get the CEOs of the state’s five largest destination marketing organizations to come together. “I wanted to put out a statement from all of us that said that we are welcoming, inclusive destinations. They wouldn’t even put their name on that,” she says. “But you know, you can’t lead by fear. Instead, we’re all about values.”
Neither Visit Orlando nor the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau responded to Forbes’ requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Visit Lauderdale is betting that tourists will continue to be drawn by the destination’s message of inclusivity.
“There’s a greater good here,” says Ritter. “You can adamantly support people who need your support right now, and also recognize there’s an economic benefit to doing so. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s America, that’s capitalism.”
