Florida lgbtq travel info removal
Community looks for answers after Visit Florida removed LGBTQ+ Journal tab
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Members of the LGBTQ+ collective are demanding answers. Florida's tourism department, VISIT FLORIDA, softly removed its Queer Travel tab from the website.
Now people are asking—why?
Equality Florida CEO Nadine Smith calls this yet another strike on the Queer community.
"It's astonishing, the level of pettiness of Governor Ron Desantis. But I think the reality that they did it secretly, without a lot of fanfare is a reflection of the fact that he understands that Floridians are really caring of sick of his antics," Smith said.
VISIT FLORIDA is the state's official tourism marketing firm. In 1996, the Florida Legislature created the not-for-profit public/private partnership.
Rachel Covello runs a similar tour website, OutCoast, focused on LGBTQ+-friendly move throughout the Sunshine State.
She has worked with Attend FLORIDA in the past.
"Back in 2021 we were actually creating content that was linked from their LGBT commute page to our page," she said.
She first noticed the missing content about a month ago.
"I was trying to show a buddy, a colleague of mine, the area
“They seem to want to erase us.”
Florida’s statewide tourism promoter has removed a section on LGBTQ+ commute to the state from its consumer-facing website, reports the Associated Press.
The section of the website, which highlighted LGBTQ+ friendly establishments, activities, and lodging in destinations across Florida, has been taken down sometime in the past not many months, the AP notes, as web scrapes of the site still exhibit the section available as of April. A look for query for LGBTQ+ activities and businesses in Florida still rendered results, and the site’s events calendar continues to include listings for LGBTQ+ events across the state. The site also continues to list travel interests such as “Family-Friendly,” “African-American Heritage Travel,” and “Hispanic Heritage” in the “Things to Do” section.
“It’s just disgusting to see this,” Keith Blackburn, who heads the Greater Fort Lauderdale LGBT Chamber of Commerce told AP. “They seem to crave to erase us.”
Visit Florida is a private/public partnership that promotes tourism to the state. The agency receives public funds, and is expected to compare those funds from tourism industry stakeholders. It’s worth noting that several tou
Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and St. Petersburg are among several Florida cities that have extended 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 adv 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+ collective. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis previously championed a bill to forbid classroom guide on sexual orientation and gender identity and supported a ban on gender-affirming care for minors as well as a rule 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."
The switch 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
The Scoop: Florida removes LGBTQ travel information from tourism website
Under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida and the LGBTQ+ community have had a tumultuous relationship.
DeSantis championed the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which forbids the discussion of many LGBTQ+-related topics in public schools for third graders and younger. That controversial law set off a major skirmish with Disney that stretched on for years through acrimonious court battles.
Now, the discussion – or lack thereof – of queer-related topics is playing out more quietly.
The New York Times reports that Visit Florida, the state’s private-public tourism bureau, removed its web pages on LGBTQ+ explore sometime in the past few months.
Neither Visit Florida nor the governor’s office responded to “numerous” requests for comment on the removal, the Times reports. Visit Florida receives nearly $80 million in funding from the governor’s office.
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“There’s a reason these pages existed in the first place: to roll out the welcome mat and say, ‘Hey, you kno
LGBTQ+ advocates react to removal of section from Visit Florida site
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — State officials are facing criticism from members of the LGBTQ+ collective after a section that was assigned to LGBTQ+ move was removed from the Visit Florida website.
What You Call for To Know
- The website change started to get attention in recent days and came up during the Florida Governor's Conference on Tourism in Tampa on Wednesday.
- Rachel Covello, owner and publisher of OutCoast.com, said she was surprised to learn that the LGBTQ+ page was gone.
- Dana Young, President and CEO of Visit Florida, addressed the change at Tampa conference
- Visit Florida says there are more people visiting the Sunshine Mention than any other time in history.
Visit Florida is a public-private partnership between the state of Florida and the state's tourism industry.
It receives nearly $80 million in declare funding.
The website switch started to fetch attention in recent days and came up during the Florida Governor's Conference on Tourism in Tampa on Wednesday.
“Our marketing strategy and our materials, our content must align with the state," said Dana Immature, President an