Corcoran unhappy with response from Visit Orlando, will seek info

TALLAHASSEE — House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s quest for transparency at Visit Orlando and other local tourism marketing groups throughout the state will continue, despite a letter from Visit Orlando on Tuesday revealing details about a marketing contract that he requested.

“I’ll be satisfied when I feel like they have been completely and utterly transparent with us,” Corcoran said Wednesday. “I do not feel that right now.”

Corcoran has threatened to issue subpoenas to groups that refused to comply with his requests, but was cryptic when asked how he would get more transparency for Visit Orlando.

“I think there’s a way to get there,” Corcoran said. “They won’t like it, but there’s a way to get there.”

Visit Orlando’s letter revealed it paid $76,500 to WOFL-Channel 35 in 2016 to advertise on a traffic and weather camera but did not disclose how much it paid under the contract this year.

“We are a private membership organization that is not required to research and accommodate every detail requested by media, although we do share more than any other similarly structured destination organization in the state,” reads the letter from Larry Henrichs, chief financial officer of Visit Orlando.

The letter also stated that the deal with Fox was not a conflict of interest even though an employee of Fox 35 sits on Visit Orlando’s board.

Corcoran disagrees and has said before that any entity receiving “one penny” of taxpayer money should be subject to transparency and disclosure laws. Visit Orlando gets $50 million from bed taxes on hotels.

Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, this year pushed for new transparency measures at Visit Florida, a statewide tourism marketing group that receives $76 million in state funds, requiring it to post contracts online and get legislative approval for contracts of more than $750,000.

Visit Orlando reports financial data on its website and recently disclosed the $607,395 annual salary of its CEO George Aguel. But it has also refused to make some contracts public, saying they are trade secrets and don’t have to be disclosed under law.

Visit Orlando denied the Orlando Sentinel’s requests to see the Fox 35 contract before Corcoran asked for it, and it has refused to disclose details of a sponsorship with the U.S. Tennis Association.