TAMPA, Fla. — In response to the highly publicized removal of an LGBTQ travel section from Visitflorida.com, the state’s official tourism website, some states are now capitalizing on Florida’s missing links by enticing travelers to leave the Sunshine State in the dark for more inclusive-friendly destinations.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the first openly gay man elected governor in the U.S., added this post to social media amid the controversy:
Hello gay tourists! Since Florida doesn’t want you, come on over to explore what Colorado has to offer!
In Colorado, we really don’t care about who you date we just appreciate you supporting our economy and spending money in our great stores and restaurants. And you’ll have a gay old time!”
While Illinois went straight to the heart.
Lack of love in the Sunshine State?
Come to Illinois
Plan your LGBTQIA adventure. Take notes, Florida.”
“Kudos to them,” said Rachel Covello, creator and operator of outcoast.com, an LGBTQ travel blog.
“If the Sunshine State isn't welcoming you, we will welcome you with open, inclusive arms. I think it's a bold, smart marketing move,” she said about other states using Florida’s political policies to perpetuate, what critics describe as, anti-LGBTQ sentiments.
About six weeks ago, Covello first brought attention to the missing section on Visit Florida’s website.
The removal of the section caused a firestorm of controversy and questions about why Visit Florida, partly funded by government dollars, would isolate an entire population of tourists within a state where tourism is the number one industry.
Last week, Visit Florida CEO Dana Young made a brief, scripted statement explaining the reason for the removal of the section.
“Visit Florida is a taxpayer funded organization and, as such, our marketing strategy, our materials, our content must align with the state,” she said at the beginning of a Board of Directors meeting in Tampa.
One day earlier, Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone approached Young during a Visit Florida finance committee but was promptly ignored.
Watch Katie’s full interaction with Visit Florida CEO Dana Young
Following the removal of the section, Covello recently rebuilt a similar version on her blog called Enjoy Queer Florida.
“I hope this kind of replaces, or at least for the meantime, substitutes what Visit Florida should have been doing with their LGBTQ landing page,” Covello said.
Covello remains hopeful that Visit Florida’s link, which included dozens of pages highlighting LGBTQ-friendly destinations across the state, will eventually be restored. She started a petition with more than 1,000 signatures and counting.
“Any effort to get people to show Visit Florida that the LGBTQ demographic is important to tourism and that this type of content is needed on a statewide platform, especially in states with so many inclusive destinations, we want to keep that momentum going,” Covello said.
"She didn’t know what she was getting into. She didn’t know she’s signing away her property"
I-Team investigator Adam Walser is hearing from a 91-year-old Lakeland woman who signed a contract to sell her home which she says she did not understand and is now being sued.
