JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Fewer people traveled to Florida in the second quarter of this year compared to the same time frame last year.
It’s the first time the state has seen a year-over-year dip in tourism in two years.
It was just back in March that Governor Ron DeSantis dismissed calls from the Florida NAACP for a travel advisory to be issued for the state.
“It’s ridiculous and we’re proud to be leading the nation in tourism. I think we’ve led it for many years in a row now and we really, I think we’ve had as good a year as we’ve ever had,” said DeSantis.
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The NAACP travel advisory was issued, as were advisories from Hispanic and LGBTQ groups.
Now, new tourism numbers show they might be working.
393,000 fewer people visited Florida in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the previous year.
It represents just a 1.2 percent drop, but it breaks an eight-quarter streak of positive tourism numbers.
“Consumers do make spending decisions on values,” said State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando).
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Eskamani argued the travel advisories and the Governor’s war on Disney could be influencing some to seek new vacation destinations.
“It’s not good policy to name call and to politicize and make partisan one of our largest employers and economic drivers,” said Eskamani.
But Samantha Padgett with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association said she believes the decrease is more likely the result of the global tourism market balancing out in the post-pandemic era.
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“All of that pent-up desire to travel, that really Florida benefited from because we were open so early, now you see the European destinations and Caribbean destinations that are now opening their gates. That pent-up desire to travel is now going global,” said Padgett.
Padgett didn’t completely dismiss the idea politics could be playing a role but noted the state’s tourism numbers remain stronger today than they were even in the year prior to the pandemic.
“You never want to take, you know, one drastic measure. You want to take a strong look at it. Our friends at Visit Florida, have solid marketing plans moving forward into the future and we are confident that those are going to be successful for the state,” said Padgett.
And despite the dip in the second quarter, when you look at total visitors to Florida in the first half of this year compared to last year, the state is in the green, with nearly a million more visitors this year.
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