Visit Florida CEO Explains Decision to Remove LGBTQ+ Travel Section From Website

Her comments at an annual tourism convention in Tampa appeared unsatisfactory.

“It’s fairly simple. Visit Florida is a taxpayer-funded organization and, as such, Visit Florida our marketing strategy, our materials and our content must align with the state,” said Visit Florida CEO Dana Young.

The organization was nationally criticized for removing the section, including a passage that read the state’s beaches were “a draw for people of all orientations, but especially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance.”

Visit Florida had previously been lauded for its inclusive practices and the LGBTQ community has long been a travel powerhouse.

Young declined to elaborate on her comments.

“It doesn’t make any sense from a business perspective,” said Rachel Covello, a St. Pete-based LGBTQ travel blogger who first discovered the missing link about a month ago. “It makes the LGBTQ people living in Florida and traveling to Florida think that the state just doesn’t care about us.”

Covello said she never received an explanation on why the link was removed from the travel website.

“It was a very blanket, surface answer,” she said. “They’re saying they’re falling in line with administration, but they welcome all to Florida. That doesn’t make sense together.”