Tourism is all grown up now; it doesn’t need Visit Florida’s help to flourish
When scientists want to prove a hypothesis, they test it. Florida should take that approach with this $50 million question:
Does the state’s tourism industry need taxpayer help to survive?
We don’t think so, but the governor disagrees. When Ron DeSantis released his budget proposal last week for the upcoming fiscal year, it included $50 million for Visit Florida.
That’s the state’s tourism marketing agency. It spreads the word about our beaches, sunny days and theme parks. You know, things a shivering family in Buffalo might otherwise not know existed in Florida.
Pardon the sarcasm, but we just don’t think the state should be in the corporate welfare business. Especially when that business doesn’t pitch in as much cash as it should.
The law states that private funding is supposed to match the state’s investment. But almost 84% of Visit Florida’s operating budget came from taxpayers last year. The tourism industry’s contributions were in “promotional value,” stuff like cooperative advertising and buying space at trade shows.
Budget hawks in the House tried to kill Visit Florida during the spring legislative session, but DeSantis engineered a lastminute bailout.
Visit Florida’s charter was extended to July 1, 2020, and its budget was cut from $76 million to $50 million.
Tourism officials predicted gloom and doom. Now they are waving around last week’s third-quarter report on the number of visitors to Florida, which showed a mere 1.2% increase over the same period last year. That was the lowest growth rate since 2010.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” declared Carol Dover, president of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. But what do they really say?
The third quarter included Labor Day, which included the approach of Category 5 Hurricane Dorian. It veered away from
Florida, but the drumbeat of impending disaster took a huge economic toll.
September’s hotel tax revenue in Orange County dipped 8% from September 2018 (which did include a major hurricane headed for Florida). Revenue per available room dropped almost 60% in the Florida Keys and 47% in Daytona Beach.
Hurricanes, the economy and new theme park offerings affect tourism far more than the state’s promotional efforts. If Universal could open a Wizarding World of Harry Potter every year, you couldn’t count all the new hotels on International Drive.
The truth is, you can hardly count them now. But how much of that is due to Visit Florida?
We know 127 million tourists visited Florida in 2018. We know they spent $85.9 billion. We know tourism supports about 1.5 million jobs.
In short, we know how important it is that people visit Florida. What nobody can truly know is how many tourists would have opted for the Catskills if not for Visit Florida’s efforts.
There is one way to find out. Pull the plug on Visit Florida and see if it makes any difference.
We doubt it will, but maybe we’re just having Pitbull flashbacks.
Visit Florida was cast into controversy in 2016 when news leaked that it paid the Miami rapper $1 million. For that, Pitbull promoted Florida in social media posts, at concerts and in a music video called “Sexy Beaches.”
Your tax dollars at work.
That deal was done in secret, as was the $11.6 million sponsorship of a cooking show hosted by celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. The fallout led to a housecleaning and some actual oversight at Visit Florida.
The agency is much more transparent and accountable these days. We just believe the government should provide government services like police, roads, schools, food inspection.
Promoting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is not a government function. Especially when Disney posted a $12.6 billion profit in 2018.
We realize not all tourism-related businesses are rolling in cash, but the only other industry Florida’s government actively promotes is agriculture. The state has other major economic (and betterpaying) engines like aerospace and health care.
Judging by the billboards, Florida’s tort law industry is also booming. Why not just give John Morgan tax money to advertise in Connecticut?
Because in a free market, businesses are supposed to fend for themselves.
DeSantis’s proposal is for one year, but a Senate bill would extend Visit Florida’s life by eight years. What other industry gets that kind of commitment?
Visit Florida boosters point out that $50 million is peanuts in a $91.6 billion budget. You know what else that $50 million could do?
Give every public school teacher a $415 raise. Hire 4,166 python hunters for a year to clean out the Everglades. Pay for a year’s care for about 9,500 foster children.
We could go on, but you get the idea. Ultimately, it comes down to that $50-million-a-year question.
Does Visit Florida make an appreciable difference?
If put to the only true test, we think Florida’s beaches are sexy enough to sell themselves.