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    Florida quietly removes LGBTQ+ travel info from state website

    By Associated Press,

    2024-08-22

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and St. Petersburg are among several Florida cities that have long been top U.S. destinations for LGBTQ+ tourists. So it came as a surprise this week when travelers learned that Florida's tourism marketing agency quietly removed the "LGBTQ Travel" section from its website sometime in the past few months.

    Business owners who cater to Florida's LGBTQ+ tourists said Wednesday that it marked the latest attempt by officials in the state to erase the LGBTQ+ community.

    Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis previously championed a bill to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, and supported a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, as well as a law meant to keep children out of drag shows .

    "It's just disgusting to see this," said Keith Blackburn, who heads the Greater Fort Lauderdale LGBT Chamber of Commerce. "They seem to want to erase us."

    LGBTQ+ Travelers-Florida

    Hundreds of people line Central Avenue and cheer June 30, 2012, during the 10th Annual St. Pete Pride Street Festival & Promenade in St. Petersburg, Fla.

    The change to Visit Florida's website was first reported by NBC News, which noted a search query still pulls up some listings for LGBTQ+-friendly places despite the elimination of the section.

    John Lai, who chairs Visit Florida's board, didn't respond to an email seeking comment. Dana Young, Visit Florida's CEO and president, didn't respond to a voicemail message and neither did the agency's public relations director.

    Visit Florida is a public-private partnership between the state of Florida and the state's tourism industry. The state contributes about $50 million each year to the quasi-public agency from two tourism and economic development funds.

    Florida is one of the most popular states in the U.S. for tourists, and tourism is one of its biggest industries. Almost 141 million tourists visited Florida in 2023, with out-of-state visitors contributing more than $102 billion to Florida's economy.

    Florida Daily Life

    Participants carry a large rainbow flag April 10, 2022, down Ocean Drive during a Pride parade in front of Miami Beach, Florida's famed Art Deco hotels on South Beach.

    Before the change, the LGBTQ+ section on Visit Florida's website read, "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."

    Blackburn said the change and other anti-LGBTQ+ policies out of Tallahassee make it more difficult for him to promote South Florida tourism since he encounters prospective travelers or travel promoters who say they don't want to do business in the state.

    Last year, for instance, several civil rights groups issued a travel advisory for Florida , saying that policies championed by DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are "openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals."

    But visitors should also understand that many Florida cities are extremely inclusive, with gay elected officials and LGBTQ+-owned businesses, and they don't reflect the policies coming from state government, Blackburn added.

    "It's difficult when these kinds of stories come out, and the state does these things, and we hear people calling for a boycott," Blackburn said. "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."

    LGBTQ+ money survey: Attitudes, challenges and opportunities

    Experian surveyed self-identified LGBTQ+ consumers about saving and spending habits and financial discrimination they may have experienced.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0UeZZL_0v6rX1XT00

    Hundreds of people line Central Avenue and cheer June 30, 2012, during the 10th Annual St. Pete Pride Street Festival & Promenade in St. Petersburg, Fla.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1UU3aL_0v6rX1XT00

    Participants carry a large rainbow flag April 10, 2022, down Ocean Drive during a Pride parade in front of Miami Beach, Florida's famed Art Deco hotels on South Beach.

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    Comments / 22
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    Bob
    08-24
    Ron did that.
    Thomas Tyson
    08-24
    religion is a most in Florida culture of all the struggle not only, but islands people that move to Florida to get better.its uncomfortable to see Kate Jenner's who used to be Bruce Jenner here in Florida or O.J. Hi the republican party been running Florida for 30 years now. everything messed because of the republican party schools,hospitals, immigration systems,criminal reform system and the worst minimum wage in the country, Do to illegal immigrants workers for less wagers, called cheap labor. Florida Leads and residents has been loosing property and jobs do to illegal immigrant workers.. 30 years republican party here in Florida people..30 years. destroyed Florida.Jedd Bush started back up Ronald Regan open the boards to Cubans 13,000 and 7,000 Haitians. Which 1/3 Cubans coming out of jail or prison to Florida overnight, people 1986.
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