Florida tourism-marketing chief Dana Young doesn’t expect Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ongoing fight with The Walt Disney Company to affect this year’s tourism numbers.
In a recent interview with Travel Weekly, Young, the president and CEO of Visit Florida, was asked about several topics that could have a negative bearing on the state.
Included were the legal and political battles that sprung up after Disney opposed a controversial 2022 law that restricts instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. The law was titled by supporters as the “Parental Rights in Education” bill but is derided by critics as “don’t say gay.”
“That is a business decision that we don't feel impacts the tourism product that Disney has,” Young said in the Travel Weekly interview. “Disney has been a longtime partner of Visit Florida. They continue to be a valued partner of Visit Florida, buying into a lot of our programs. People love Disney, they love visiting Disney, and they will continue to go to Disney.”
Visit Florida recently released first-quarter tourism numbers that estimated travel to Florida was up 6.7 percent from the same period in 2022. The bulk of the 37.9 million visitors were from other states while international travel remained below pre-pandemic totals.
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