Despite travel advisories to the state of Florida in recent years by left-wing groups, the Sunshine State just broke another tourism record, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday.
“It’s official: Florida just broke the record, again,” he wrote on X. “Last year, we had the highest visitation numbers in state history, and tourists spent a record $131 billion in Florida. That’s an increase of 5% over 2022—despite ‘travel advisories’ issued by left-wing activist groups seeking to drum up hysteria about our state.
“For every dollar spent by a visitor, Florida’s economy retained 97 cents, with 58 cents supporting worker salaries and 13 cents collected as tax revenue,” DeSantis added. “In addition to boosting Florida’s fiscal health and budget surplus, tourism activity resulted in nearly $2,000 in tax savings per household in 2023. Tourism was responsible for 2.1 million jobs in Florida, providing $76.4 billion in income to workers across our state. There’s never been a better time to visit Florida!”
DeSantis was likely referring to groups such as the NAACP, which has a travel advisory in place over the state’s “aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools." The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) also issued a warning last year about traveling to Florida after DeSantis signed the strongest anti-illegal immigration legislation in the U.S. to counter the Biden-Harris administration’s border crisis. Even the state of California once banned state-funded travel to Florida over “anti-LGBTQ laws,” though Gov. Gavin Newsom ended the policy last year.
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It’s official: Florida just broke the record, again. Last year, we had the highest visitation numbers in state history, and tourists spent a record $131 billion in Florida. That’s an increase of 5% over 2022—despite “travel advisories” issued by left-wing activist groups seeking… pic.twitter.com/lel0oGWZE1
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 10, 2024
The Governor’s office points out that the record tourism numbers came despite travel advisories from groups like the NAACP and LULAC, who called Florida "hostile" because of its laws and policies. https://t.co/1RIcYyRfyt
— Jim Grimes (@jimgrimes) December 10, 2024
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