FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. (WSVN) – Broward County officials say several groups have changed their minds about holding their events there, and some are blaming the state of politics in Florida.
The Visit Lauderdale Group works with organizations across the country to bring them to Broward. The group’s president and CEO, Stacy Ritter, said there is a clear pattern when it comes to recent cancellations.
“I don’t think any of us have ever seen politics come into tourism,” Ritter said.
But Visit Lauderdale officials say that’s exactly the case with a half-dozen organizations that chose not to hold their conventions in Broward.
“Tourism has always transcended politics. People travel where they would like to go,” Ritter said.
But despite the sun and sand, some groups decide to go elsewhere, according to a spreadsheet provided to 7News.
One such group explained, “We were very close to this one…but the group decided to pull out of Florida because of concerns about what the governor is doing in education/schools and that he will likely be heading the 2024. They don’t want to lose attendees because of this.”
Another group “selected Atlanta because of the current political climate in Florida.”
One reason cited by a Mississippi group was “Governor DeSantis.”
“We are not doing anything different at Visit Lauderdale; it’s just that people are paying more attention to Florida these days,” Ritter said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is running for president in 2024. He has received national attention for a public fight with Disney and has signed bills affecting the LGBTQ community, as well as a six-week abortion ban.
In a statement, the governor’s press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, wrote: “As Governor DeSantis announced in May, Florida is experiencing record tourism, with the [first quarter of] 2023 with the highest volume of visitors during a single quarter in recorded history.
Redfern went on to say, “Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida’s economy is booming, with Florida being the fastest growing state with the highest net inward immigration.”
“In Greater Fort Lauderdale, we’ve seen record tourism numbers in the first quarter of this calendar year, but like I said, the books of business stacked up years in advance,” Ritter said.
The Broward County Convention Center is currently hosting a karate tournament. Some visitors said politics should play no role.
“Everybody has an opinion on everything, what they believe or not,” said tournament assistant Rocky Catala. “At the end of the day, deep down, we should be working on how to make our lives better.”
“Sometimes we just have to overlook some of the political issues and do what needs to be done,” said Ann Thackerson, who is visiting from North Carolina.
Ritter said the potential conventions listed in the spreadsheet would have brought in about $9 million in revenue.
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