Former State Senator Dana Young, now in charge of VISIT FLORIDA, presented the case of the tourist marketing agency before a Senate panel on Tuesday.
By Miami Diario Newsroom
The five-member Trade and Tourism Committee listened to Young, whose agency will fight for its existence again in 2020.
VISIT FLORIDA has been under threat in the Legislature in recent years. Last year, lawmakers on both sides of the issue pledged to let the agency continue for another year, but reduced the public-private agency's annual funding from $76 million to just $50 million.
The $50 million was the compromise number floated by the Senate, below the threshold sought by the executive branch.
Last month, Governor Ron DeSantis urged lawmakers to "make a decision" on the agency. Young tried to make that decision a little easier.
Armed with a PowerPoint presentation saying her agency was "delivering value for Floridians," Young described the "important work" the program has done for taxpayers.
Young extolled the program's "umbrella" effect, before pivoting to more grassroots pitching, saying "small businesses and lesser-known organizations" benefit the most from the agency, especially with international visitors.
Adventure tourism, for example, is up 27 percent year on year after "no growth in the previous two years." International tourism is driving gains here and elsewhere, including from Canada, and traffic is picking up after recent declines.
Young also cited an economic analysis by Chief Legislative Economist Amy Baker that noted that tourism is "performing too much" in sales tax revenue, offsetting other areas of Florida's economy that may be declining, especially when it comes to to the collection of sales tax.
“A 2 percent reduction in tourism revenue (would eliminate) $64 million of sales tax revenue,” Young said, quoting Baker.
Young went on to emphasize the return on investment, saying that this was one of the "most productive and important economic development programs in recent history."
To do this, Young showed a co-branded ad with Expedia, showing a wide range of options.
“VISIT FLORIDA is there to show that we are open for business,” Young said, a helpful counterprogramming to the negative stories about hurricanes and Red Tide.
The Senate is not the sticking point.
An eight-year reauthorization was contemplated in the 2019 Legislative Session. However, the compromise with the House was a one-year extension.
"We need certainty," Young pleaded.
Democratic Senator Linda Stewart, when reporting that the budget was cut last year, said "we can't afford it."
I wish it was that easy.
Sen. Joe Gruters, the Republican who chairs the committee, prompted Young to discuss the impact of the budget cuts.
"We had to quickly redo our budget," Young said. "We really got into the weeds, line by line."
The staff has been reduced from 146 to 85 people since the beginning of the year.
"I was forced to lay off 44 people outright," Young said, noting that travel and "professional development" opportunities were curtailed.
Even the uniforms were at stake. At the Welcome Centers, employees received eight uniforms. That is no longer the case.
"Everything that wasn't mission-critical was eliminated," Young said, moving marketing budgets from broadcast television to digital-specific.
Source: flapol
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