Take Skift
Visit Florida has finally answered the question about why the LGTBQ travel page was removed, but there are still many unanswered questions.
David Habtemariam
Visit Florida made its first public statement on Wednesday about the removal of its “LGTBQ Travel” page after more than a week of not providing an explanation for the removal.
“It’s simple. Visit Florida is a tax-funded organization and therefore our marketing strategy, our materials and our content must be consistent with the state. Florida has always been and will always be a very welcoming state,” said Dana Young, CEO and president of Visit Florida, in response to a question at the tourism office’s board meeting.
The site had provided information on beaches, destinations, businesses and museums open to LGBTQ travelers. Skift reported on the site’s removal last week following a report in NBC News. Visit Florida did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Rachel Covello, who attended the meeting and runs the travel blog OutCoast, was not satisfied with Young’s explanation. She was the first to notice that the site had been removed.
“Her answer was very superficial and sounded almost political. She did not address the question of where the website went,” she said.
In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law (called “Don’t Say Gay” by critics) that banned discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classes.
At a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis said he only learned of the site’s removal after it was taken down.
“I didn’t realize it until after the fact. Our view as a state is that we are the best place to visit, we welcome everyone, but we’re not going to separate people based on those different characteristics. That’s never how we’ve done business in all of our operations,” he said. “I’m not sure how this all started. Now I’m aware of it and I think nothing really changes and the fact is that Florida is going to remain a great place.”
Visit Florida has been actively marketing to LGBTQ travelers for at least a decade. “We’ve been supporting LGBTQ travel for a long time, from sponsoring events at ITB to content to marketing. It’s been a staple for a long time,” said Will Seccombe, former CEO and president of Visit Florida from 2012 to 2017, in an interview last week.
Visit Florida is a public-private partnership. The state legislature has allocated $80 million to Visit Florida for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Young, a former state legislature politician, was appointed by DeSantis to lead the organization in 2019.
While Visit Florida has removed its page, other destination marketing organizations in Florida have maintained their “Things To Do” pages for LGBTQ travelers. The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Visit Lauderdale, Visit Tampa Bay and Visit Orlando all still have their pages online.
“Although Visit Florida is removing its LGBTQ+ page from its website, Visit Lauderdale values, respects and recognizes people from marginalized communities and is committed to providing them with a welcoming and inclusive experience,” Stacy Ritter, CEO and president of Visit Lauderdale, wrote on LinkedIn last week.