Visit Florida lays off 44 workers

TALLAHASSEE – Following the Legislature’s decision to cut Visit Florida’s budget by $26 million next fiscal year, the tourism marketing agency laid off 44 workers Thursday.

“The decision to downsize staff proportionate to the budget reduction was extremely difficult, but with less funding, there is simply no way Visit Florida could maintain the level of staffing we once had,” Visit Florida CEO Dana Young said in an emailed statement.

The cuts amount to about a third of Visit Florida’s workforce, comparable with the 33 percent cut it faces in funding for the budget year that begins July 1.

According to an email sent earlier in the week and obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, employees were told not to report directly to work Thursday, and they would receive an email with an appointment time letting them know if they still had a job. Tallahasseebased employees were told to “bring all Visit Florida issued property with them to the meeting.”

Most of the employees laid off were based in Tallahassee or other parts of the state, but one employee based in Orlando was let go as well. The names and positions of the employees were not released.

During a board meeting earlier this month it was determined $3.6 million in payroll costs had to be reduced in light of the cuts. But there was no discussion of raising funds from the private tourism industry. That could be done under state law and how the agency was intended to operate – with a mix of private and public dollars.

Visit Florida also likely will make cuts in the overseas advertising to make up the reduction to its budget.

“Our ultimate responsibility is to manage the tax dollars invested in our organization as effectively as possible while still working every day to promote and support Florida’s tourism industry and the revenue that it generates,” Young said. “While this reduced budget will require significant changes in our marketing approach, we are confident that we can continue to deliver a great value for Floridians with the funding provided.”

House Republicans have tried to defund Visit Florida, created in 1996, since 2017 when then-Gov. Rick Scott battled publicly with then-House Speaker Richard Corcoran over the agency. Corcoran and his successor, Jose Oliva, believe the money spent on Visit Florida is “corporate welfare” and tourism interests should get along without publicly subsidized advertising.

For Scott, it was a vital part of his economic platform and fought to save the agency, refusing to sign a budget with cuts and ultimately reaching a compromise with Corcoran.

When Gov. Ron DeSantis took office, he wasn’t as insistent on Visit Florida’s value, but wanted to see how the program worked for himself before axing it. He included $76 million in his recommended budget, but Oliva’s House only put $19 million toward the program, enough to keep it alive until Oct. 1, when it was scheduled to expire in state law.

According to Oliva, only the late intervention of DeSantis in budget talks with the House and Senate saved Visit Florida from fading out completely.

According to Visit Florida statistics, 125 million visitors came to the Sunshine State last year, a 5 percent increase over 2017.

DeSantis hasn’t yet signed the budget but is expected to do so next month.