Florida Sets Tourism Record: Gov. Scott

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Folks who thought they noticed more traffic on roads and bigger crowds at beaches, theme parks and other tourist destinations across the Sunshine State over the past few months weren’t wrong. According to Gov. Rick Scott’s office, the state played host to a record-setting 31.1 million visitors in the first quarter of 2017. The news comes as the Florida Legislature's proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes massive funding cuts for Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency.

“I am proud to announce today that Florida set another record by welcoming 31.1 million visitors during the first quarter of 2017, the highest number of quarterly visitors in the state’s history,” Scott said in a statement. “This historic number would not have been possible without the significant funding we have invested in Visit Florida over the past few years.”

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Scott requested $100 million to fund the tourism marketing agency in the upcoming fiscal year. The Legislature has only approved $25 million for the agency that has been under fire for some controversial expenditures, including $1 million reportedly paid to musician Pitbull to market Florida’s “sexy beaches.”

Controversy aside, Scott credits the marketing agency for the state’s uptick in tourism. He is also calling out the Legislature for its decision.

“It is disappointing that the Florida Legislature made a shortsighted decision to jeopardize the growth of our tourism industry and the 1.4 million jobs that rely on it by cutting funding to Visit Florida by 67 percent,” Scott said. “Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. In business, you would never stop marketing when you start to see great results. Instead of decimating funding to Visit Florida, we should be investing in tourism marketing so we can continue to bring record visitors to our state.”

Scott on Monday mentioned vetoing the budget is an option that is very much still on the table, the Tampa Bay Times reported. With Sen. Jack Latvala at his side, he spoke at a media conference in Miami about the possibilities.

“I can veto the whole budget,” Scott was quoted by the Times as saying. “I can veto a portion of the budget, a line of the budget. And I can do a special session.”

Scott said he was exploring each opportunity, a move Latvala, a Republican from Clearwater hopes he makes.

“I’m hopeful that the governor will exercise his prerogative, will call us back to Tallahassee,” the Times quoted Latvala as saying.

As the controversy related to Visit Florida continues, the state’s record-setting 31.1 million visitors represented a 2.5 percent spike over the same period in 2016. Visit Florida estimates that 27.1 million domestic travelers visited Florida in the first quarter of 2017. Estimates also include 2.7 million overseas visitors and 1.3 million visitors from Canada.

Ken Lawson, president and CEO of Visit Florida, said his organization is facing many challenges in the year ahead if the budget cut stands.

“Because the Legislature decided to inadequately fund Visit Florida, our organization is going to have to make tough decisions in the coming weeks and will not be able to compete with destinations like California and Texas,” Lawson said in a statement. “We will strive every day so Florida does not become another case study like other states who lost billions of dollars in revenue due to cutting tourism marketing dollars.”

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