{"id":34316,"date":"2023-08-07T12:51:30","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T16:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=34316"},"modified":"2023-08-07T12:51:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T16:51:34","slug":"desantis-anti-woke-bills-are-costing-florida-millions-of-dollars-in-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2023\/08\/07\/desantis-anti-woke-bills-are-costing-florida-millions-of-dollars-in-business\/","title":{"rendered":"DeSantis\u2019 \u2018anti-woke\u2019 bills are costing Florida millions of dollars in business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A slew of new bills signed into law by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has draped the Sunshine State in controversy, spurring protests, lawsuits and travel advisories warning the state is \u201copenly hostile\u201d toward people of color, immigrants, women and LGBTQ+ community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The fallout is starting to spread to a key economic artery for an income-tax-free state heavily reliant upon tourism taxes: Florida\u2019s convention business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent weeks, at least a dozen organizations have announced plans to either cancel or relocate their upcoming conferences scheduled to take place in Florida, making a statement by having their thousands of attendees and millions of dollars flow into other states deemed safer and more welcoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While DeSantis\u2019 office brushes this off as a \u201cmedia-driven stunt,\u201d tourism officials and community organizations in the state say what\u2019s happening now may be just the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnlike leisure business, which is a very short-term booking window [in weeks or months], conference business is long term,\u201d said Stacy Ritter, president and chief executive officer of the Visit Lauderdale tourism marketing agency in Broward County, Florida. \u201cWe\u2019re booking \u201926 to \u201830 now, so any impact that this might have is not going to be seen for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of visitors and millions of dollars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of July 26, Ritter said that Visit Lauderdale has tallied 10 events and conventions that were canceled by organizations citing recently enacted laws, policies and travel advisories. That amounts to 15,000 lost hotel room nights and an estimated $20 million economic impact, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ritter, a longtime Democratic politician in the state, said she first started to see some businesses pull back following the 2022 legislative session and the first iteration of the ruling known as the \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d law. At the time, she also received emails from leisure travelers suggesting they wouldn\u2019t come back to Florida because they perceived it was hostile to the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat trickle from last year became a little stronger,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t have a crystal ball, I wish I did, but I don\u2019t know what happens in the future if this becomes a thing, or if this is a blip. Nobody knows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the estimated losses \u2014 especially when spread out over a period of years \u2014 represent a small percentage of Broward County\u2019s annual Tourist Development Tax collections, which were $123.9 million in the 2022 fiscal year. But Ritter said any loss of business is potentially concerning, especially in light of some large-scale investments made in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annual conferences are planned well in advance to ensure that it\u2019s a smooth process to bring thousands of people together for a few days, and last-minute shifts are sometimes next to impossible for organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBroward County has invested $1.5 billion in building an 801-room Omni hotel connected to our expanding and renovated convention center, [but] we are not seeing the bookings for \u201926, \u201827, \u201828, \u201829 and \u201830, which we would have anticipated \u2014 considering that we will have this shiny new toy in the neighborhood in late-2025,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Orlando\u2019s Orange County Convention Center, the second-largest convention venue in the United States, there have been four canceled events: the 2024 AnitaB.org Grace Hopper Celebration, the 2024 National Society of Black Engineers\u2019 50th annual convention, the 2025 American Education Research Association annual meeting, and the 2027 Association of periOperative Registered Nurses Global Surgical Conference & Expo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AERA pulled its 15,000-person meeting in Orlando after Florida passed the Fairness in Women\u2019s Sports Act, which prohibits transgender female athletes from participating in women\u2019s sports teams, said Tony Pals, spokesperson for AERA, in an email to CNN. In 2021, AERA adopted a motion that it would not hold a conference or event in a state with anti-trans laws, Pals added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials for AORN, however, declined to say whether its decision was tied to any specific piece of legislation or travel advisory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OCCC officials declined to comment beyond issuing a written statement from Mark Tester, its executive director, who said the convention center \u201cprioritizes the safety and comfortability\u201d of employees, attendees and community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Tampa, the city\u2019s largest convention center hasn\u2019t seen any events cut bait. However, the organizations that are still hosting their conferences this year at the Tampa Convention Center \u201chave expressed to us their displeasure with legislation,\u201d Juan Lopez, the center\u2019s sales and marketing manager, told CNN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is concern about prospective clients and their hesitation to come to Florida or choose any Florida destination,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, our community continues to message and advocate for all groups to come to Tampa, knowing that irrespective of what is occurring within our legislation, Tampa remains an inclusive destination where we welcome and embrace all groups regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, regardless of what\u2019s happening politically.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeSantis\u2019 press office declined request for an interview and for additional comment beyond an emailed statement:
\u201cThis is nothing more than a media-driven stunt,\u201d press secretary Jeremy Redfern wrote via email. He noted that Florida is \u201cexperiencing record tourism,\u201d had a record number of visitors during the first quarter of this year and was among the six fastest-growing states in the South contributing more to GDP than the Northeast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder the leadership of Governor DeSantis, Florida\u2019s economy is booming, with Florida being the fastest-growing state and having the largest net domestic in-migration,\u201d Redfern said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The political climate has changed the calculus for many organizations as they host events in Florida this year and weigh future conferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mathematical Association of America, which this week hosted its annual MathFest in Tampa, laid out an extensive list of initiatives<\/a> on its website for members in advance of the event, including information on gender-neutral bathrooms, security details, and efforts to engage with the local community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AnitaB.org, an organization of female and non-binary tech workers, said in an open letter that its Grace Hopper Celebration taking place September in Orlando will \u201cconclude our investment in Florida, and we will not return until this legislation is overturned and the state becomes more welcoming to all.\u201d The organization cited laws that restrict access to abortions, allow for permit-free concealed carry of a firearm, that target undocumented immigrants and that restrict educators\u2019 curriculum especially as it relates to LGBTQ+ individuals and people of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a difficult decision for the National Society of Black Engineers to move its 2024 event from Florida, said Janeen Uzzell, CEO of the National Society of Black Engineers, which two years ago selected Orlando to serve as the host city for its 50th annual convention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after conversations with the NAACP, the National Urban League, legal team, sponsors, members of Congress as well as other organizations in the same boat, the NSBE decided it was best to not have the event there, she said, adding that \u201csignificant sums\u201d of money are potentially being left on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The society was formed in 1975, during the Black Power Movement; and as the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary and looks to honor its mission of increasing the number of Black engineers, the climate in Florida undermines that, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cAnd so for the very reasons that they came together to create NSBE, those are some of the same, unfortunate reasons why we still exist today \u2014 beyond our scholarship and the opportunity to fund education and help students get jobs and to build the pipeline of engineering,\u201d she said. \u201cBut unfortunately, now we\u2019ve come to a head with House Bill 999 [which bans state universities from using funds to promote diversity, equity and inclusion or Critical Race Theory] that cause us to have a compromised experience, and so we\u2019re going back to the roots of why we were started and we\u2019re going to stand firm in that, and that\u2019s unwavering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, a \u201cprinciples-based decision\u201d was made to move its fall 2023 conference from Florida to another host city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile no place can be 100% safe, Miami and Florida in Fall 2023 did not feel like the best place to gather for our annual conference,\u201d Laxmi Ramasubramanian, president of the ACSP, wrote to members on June 28 in a letter that was also provided to CNN. \u201cWe worried about attrition in conference attendance because some of our attendees were likely to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or fear for their own safety while navigating Miami outside of the conference venues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety was a paramount concern for board member Petra Doan, a longtime and recently retired Florida State University professor who transitioned 25 years ago while on faculty. Doan, who moved to Maine last year after 33 years in Florida, said she considers herself a political refugee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI often feel like if I will go back to Florida, I\u2019ll have a target painted on me because I am openly trans,\u201d Doan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doan also expressed concern for the field and teaching of urban planning under the new laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t provide our planner tools to understand these minority populations, they\u2019re at a disadvantage,\u201d she said. \u201cCities have been notorious places where minorities rights get trampled, and so I was doing my bit to try to reorient the training of people who would go on and plan cities. \u201cAnd I think it was successful, but it was clearly not what the political hierarchy in the state of Florida were interested in by the time I left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A \u2018gut-check moment\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel boycotts are nothing new for the convention business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt ebbs and flows,\u201d said Jack Johnson, chief advocacy officer for Destinations International, a membership association that advocates on behalf of tourism professionals and organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent decades, states such as Arizona, Indiana and North Carolina have seen some of the largest and costliest travel boycotts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the late 1980s and early \u201990s, Arizona lost a Super Bowl and dozens of conventions because of efforts to cancel the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and two decades later, the Grand Canyon State was again blacklisted by businesses, cities and states for a controversial immigration-enforcement law. In Indiana, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act resulted in the cancellation of about 12 conventions and $60 million in lost economic impact, according to Visit Indy research; and North Carolina\u2019s proposed \u201cBathroom Bill\u201d has been estimated to cost the state more than $3.7 billion over 12 years, according to an Associated Press analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow we\u2019ve got a whole wave of boycotts that are occurring against multiple states,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of that is attributable to travel bans issued by states or localities, he said. California, for example, restricts state-funded and state-sponsored travel to 24 states<\/a> identified as enacting discriminatory laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cAnd then organizations that take a stand on various social issues don\u2019t want to go to various states, most notably now is Florida and probably Tennessee and Texas,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cDepending on the issue, there can be anywhere between 20 and 30 states that may be on a list of [organizations] pulling out or just avoiding pursuing contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Destination International firmly opposes travel boycotts and believes that there are better approaches to take if an organization wants to cancel a show for purely political reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe that there are better approaches to tackling the reasons that a show or an event may decide not to go for purely political reasons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit Lauderdale\u2019s Ritter said travel boycotts could ultimately hurt the communities people are trying to support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do think that people who don\u2019t live in Florida should recognize that there are 20 million of us who live here,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are not monolithic. We\u2019re not the Borg. We don\u2019t all think as one. And there are destinations in Florida that welcome people who don\u2019t think like they do, who don\u2019t look like they do, who don\u2019t worship like they do, who don\u2019t identify like they do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added: \u201cJust as there are red counties in blue states, there are blue counties in red states which embrace those values, and we are one of them. That\u2019s what we hope people will remember as they\u2019re making their decisions: We have always celebrated diversity, we have always been an inclusive destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equality Florida, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ civil rights, has been inundated with calls from individuals and organizations wondering whether it would be more impactful to travel or spend their dollars elsewhere as a means of protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cIt has been heartbreaking to see families fleeing; it has been absolutely devastating,\u201d said Nadine Smith, co-founder and CEO of Equality Florida. \u201cSome of our best volunteers, strongest, most dedicated people have said, \u2018I can\u2019t, in good conscience stay where the governor has made this a hostile place for my kids and our family.\u2019 That said, there are a lot of people who are staying and fighting back, and I have nothing but respect for whichever decision people make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith said that this is a \u201cgut-check moment\u201d for businesses that have talked about diversity and that \u201ceveryone\u2019s paying attention to who stands up and who doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that she fears the damage has already been done from these laws, and that it will take years to recover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe thing about economic erosion, it\u2019s like climate change: People go, \u2018Oh, we\u2019ve still got tourists and people are still on the beaches.\u2019 Yeah, we do, and Florida is a beautiful place, but how do you tally what you\u2019re losing?\u201d Smith said. \u201cHow do you tally what it means to have the best and the brightest students after graduation go elsewhere with their talent?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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