First read is on us.

Subscribe today to keep up with the latest travel industry news.

Visit Florida Secures $50 Million Lifeline — For Now


Skift Take

The good news is that the Sunshine State’s official tourism marketing body can continue operations. The not-so-good news is that it’s only a one-year reprieve — and on a slashed budget, at that.

Legislative budget negotiators have reached a deal to extend the life of the Visit Florida tourism agency, which had been set to expire in October.

The House and Senate agreed Monday to approve $50 million for the agency and move its “sunset” date to June 30, 2020. That’s lower than the $76 million Gov. Ron DeSantis requested but higher than the Republican-led House initially proposed.

Visit Florida markets tourism destinations in Florida through a variety of advertising methods, but House leaders have questioned whether it is necessary.

House lawmakers were especially unhappy when Visit Florida in 2015 secretly inked a $1 million endorsement deal with rapper Pitbull, a move many viewed as reckless spending. The agency is now under new leadership.

About 126 million tourists visited Florida last year.

This article was originally from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

Up Next

Hotels

How Data Quality Issues Impact Global Hospitality Operations

There are wide discrepancies in data quality for hotel transactions across global regions, with the largest occurring in Asia-Pacific. Because hotels and agencies need to harness data quality to thrive, they must take a more nuanced regional approach to monitoring potential issues.
Sponsored
Tourism

Global Travel Poised for Continued Growth in 2025

2024 marked a year of normalization for global travel, with the focus shifting from recovering to pre-pandemic levels to achieving real growth beyond those. While challenges remain, the industry demonstrated resilience and is poised for continued growth in 2025.