In late August, without explanation, Visit Florida, the state’s official tourism website, removed the LGBTQ travel section from its website. The move came as a shock to the LGBTQ community, which was already leery of traveling to the state after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the state legislature enacted a series of anti-LGBT policies.
Credit: Disney
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Before it was removed from the Visit Florida website, the LGBTQ travel section promoted the state as:
There’s a sense of freedom to Florida’s beaches, the warm weather and the myriad activities — a draw for people of all orientations, but especially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance.
When the state removed the section, no one knew why or who ordered its removal. However, now we are getting more clarity on the situation.
Visit Florida CEO and President Dana Young told reporters that as a taxpayer-funded organization, Visit Florida must “align with the state.”
Credit: Inside the Magic
Dana Young said:
Visit Florida, our marketing strategy and our materials, our content must align with the state. Florida has always been and will continue to be a very, very welcoming state.
That is evidenced by the incredible tourism numbers that we presented last week and at this board meeting and Visit Florida is committed to continue that message of being welcome to everyone forward as we move through the next year and through the next many years in our partnership with the state of Florida,
Young did not elaborate any further on why the section that gave LGBTQ travel information was removed. After Young’s comments, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was asked about the controversy at a press conference. Governor DeSantis said:
Credit: Spectrum News
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We’re open to all. But we’re not going to be segregating people by these different characteristics. That’s not how we’ve done business and any of the things that we’ve done.
Despite what DeSantis said, there are pages on the Visit Florida website for African American and Hispanic travelers.
Dana Young was appointed the Visit Florida CEO in 2019, the same year DeSantis took office. Before her appointment, she was in the Florida State Senate, losing her re-election bid in 2018.
When asked about this controversy, Keith Blackburn, who heads the Greater Fort Lauderdale LGBT Chamber of Commerce, told the Orlando Sentinel:
It’s just disgusting to see this. They seem to want to erase us. It’s difficult when these kinds of stories come out, and the state does these things, and we hear people calling for a boycott.
On one level, it’s embarrassing to have to explain why people should come to South Florida and our destination when the state is doing these things.
Credit: Inside the Magic
The Human Rights Campaign issued a travel advisory to the LGBTQ+ community in Florida. The nation’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group told its members not to visit Florida because of the “devastating impacts of laws that are hostile to the LGBTQ community.”
Based on Young and DeSantis’ comments, it does not appear that the LGBTQ travel information section will return to the Visit Florida website soon.
Do you think removing an LGBTQ travel section from the Visit Florida website ‘aligns with the state?’
