2023-08-06 17:08:00
(CNN) — New bills signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, have sparked controversy in the state, sparking protests, lawsuits and a travel warning that says the state is “openly hostile” to black people, immigrants , women and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The fallout has already begun to spill over into a key economic artery for an income-tax-free state, which relies heavily on tourism taxes: Florida’s convention business.
Over the past few weeks, at least a dozen organizations have announced their plans to cancel or relocate upcoming conferences to Florida, marking a clear position in getting their thousands of attendees and millions of dollars flowing to other considered states. safer and more welcoming.
Although DeSantis’ office has downplayed the situation, calling it a “media-driven stunt,” tourism officials and community organizations in the state say what’s happening now may be just the beginning.
“Unlike entertainment and leisure businesses, which have a very short-term booking window (in weeks or months), the conference business is long-term,” explained Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of the marketing agency. tour guide Visit Lauderdale in Broward County, Florida. “We are booking the year 2026 to 2030 now, so any impact this may have will not be seen for years to come,” she added.
Thousands of visitors and millions of dollars
Ritter said that as of July 26, Visit Lauderdale had recorded 10 events and conventions that organizations decided to cancel citing recently enacted laws, policies and travel advisories. That equates to 15,000 lost hotel night reservations and an estimated economic impact of $20 million, he said.
Ritter, who has also been a longtime Democratic politician in the state, said she began to see some businesses backtrack on their plans following the 2022 legislative session and the “Don’t Say” law went into effect. Gay” (“Don’t say gay”, in Spanish). At the time, she also received emails from tourists suggesting that they would not return to Florida because they perceived it to be hostile to the LGBTQ+ community.
“That handful of cases from last year went up a little bit,” he noted. “I don’t have a crystal ball, I wish I did, but I don’t know what will happen in the future if this becomes a thing or if it’s a problem. Nobody knows,” she completed.
Construction of an 801-room Omni hotel adjacent to the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 22, 2022. Broward County, which invested $1.5 billion in expanding and renovating its center of conventions, it has not had the reservations that it expected. (Credit: Rebecca Blackwell/AP)
For now, the estimated losses ––especially when spread over multiple years–– represent a small percentage of Broward County’s annual tourism development tax collections of $123.9 million. in fiscal 2022. However, Ritter insisted that any loss of business is potentially worrisome, especially in light of some large-scale investments made in recent years.
Annual conferences are planned well in advance to ensure everything runs smoothly bringing thousands of people together for a few days, and last-minute changes are sometimes nearly impossible for organizations.
“Broward County has invested $1.5 billion to build an 801-room Omni hotel connected to our renovated and expanding convention center, [pero] we are not getting the reservations for 2026, 27, 28, 29 and 30 that we had anticipated, considering we will have this shiny new hotel in the neighborhood by the end of 2025,” he said.
At the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, the second-largest venue of its kind in the United States, four events have been cancelled: AnitaB.org’s Grace Hopper Celebration in 2024, the National Society’s 50th annual convention of Black Engineers in 2024, the American Association for Research in Education (AERA) Annual Meeting in 2025, and the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Global Surgical Conference & Expo. English) in 2027.
AERA canceled its gathering of 15,000 people in Orlando following Florida passed the Women’s Sports Equity Act, which prohibits transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports teams, Tony Pals, an association spokesman, said 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.
People walk inside the Orange County Convention Center on February 26, 2023, in Orlando. (Credit: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)
For their part, AORN officials declined to say whether their decision was tied to any specific legislation or travel advisory.
Orange County Convention Center officials declined to comment beyond a written statement issued by Mark Tester, its CEO, who said the convention center “prioritizes the safety and comfort” of employees, attendees and members of the community. community.
In Tampa, the city’s largest convention center has not recorded any canceled events. However, the organizations that are still hosting their conferences this year at the Tampa Convention Center “have expressed their discontent with the legislation to us,” Juan López, the venue’s sales and marketing manager, told CNN.
“There is concern for potential clients and their hesitance to come to Florida or choose any destination in Florida,” he said. “However, our community continues to message and advocate for all groups to come to Tampa, knowing that regardless of what happens within our legislation, Tampa remains an inclusive destination where we welcome and accept all groups regardless of age. their race, religion, sexual orientation, regardless of what is happening politically.”
The Tampa Bay Comic Book Convention, which took place July 28-30 at the Tampa Convention Center. (Credit: Courtesy of the Tampa Convention Center)
DeSantis’ press office denied requests for an interview and for additional comment beyond an emailed statement.
“This is nothing more than a media-driven stunt,” press secretary Jeremy Redfern wrote in the email. He noted that Florida is “experiencing a tourism record,” had record visitor numbers during the first quarter of this year, and was among the six fastest-growing states in the South that contributed more to GDP than the Northeast.
“Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, Florida’s economy is booming, being the fastest growing state with the highest net domestic immigration,” Redfern said in a statement.
security concerns
The political climate changed the calculations of many organizations when organizing events in Florida this year and considering future conferences.
The Math Association of America (MAA), which this week held its annual MathFest in Tampa, presented a extensive list of initiatives on their website for members in advance of the event, including information on gender-neutral restrooms, safety details, and efforts to engage with the local community.
AnitaB.org, an organization of non-binary and female tech workers, stated in an open letter that its Grace Hopper Celebration, which will take place in Orlando in September, will “end our investment in Florida, and we will not return until this is repealed.” legislation and the state more welcoming to everyone. The organization cited laws that restrict access to abortion, allow concealed carry of firearms without permission, target undocumented immigrants, and restrict the curriculum of educators, especially as it relates to LGBTQ+ and color.
AnitaB.org and MAA did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
An aerial perspective of the downtown nightscape on July 20, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. (Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)
It was a difficult decision for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) to move its 2024 event from Florida, said Janeen Uzzell, CEO of the organization, which two years ago chose Orlando as the host city for its 50th annual convention.
But following discussions with the NAACP, the National Urban League, the legal team, sponsors, members of Congress and other organizations in the same boat, the NSBE decided it was best not to hold the event there, he said, adding that Potentially “significant sums” of money are being left on the table.
NSBE was formed in 1975, during the Black Power Movement, and as the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary and tries to fulfill its mission of increasing the number of black engineers, the climate in Florida undermines that mission, he said.
Members of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) attend the first day of the organization’s 49th Annual Convention, which took place March 22-26 in Kansas City, Missouri. The NSBE recently announced plans to move its 50th annual convention from Orlando, citing the political climate, travel advisories and recently passed laws. (Courtesy of the NSBE)
“And so, for the same reasons that they came together to create the NASB, those are some of the same, unfortunate reasons that we still exist today, beyond our scholarship and the opportunity to fund education and help the students get jobs and build the engineering pipeline,” he said. “But unfortunately, we now come to a head with House Bill 999 (which prohibits state universities from using funds to promote diversity, equity and inclusion or Critical Race Theory) which makes for an engaging experience, so we’re going back to the roots of why we started and we’re going to stand by that, and that’s unwavering.”
In the case of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), a “principled decision” was made to move its fall 2023 conference from Florida to another host city.
“While no place can be 100% safe, Miami and Florida in the fall of 2023 did not feel like the best place to gather for our annual conference,” ACSP President Laxmi Ramasubramanian wrote to members on June 28. in a letter that was also provided to CNN. “We were concerned regarding the loss of conference attendees because some of them were likely to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or fear for their own safety while traveling through Miami outside of the conference venues.”
Safety was a top concern for Petra Doan, a recently retired Florida State University professor and board member who made her transition 25 years ago while on the faculty. Doan, who moved to Maine last year following 33 years in Florida, said she considers herself a political refugee.
“I often feel like if I go back to Florida I’m going to be targeted because I’m openly trans,” Doan said.
Doan also expressed concern regarding the countryside and the teaching of urbanism under the new laws.
“If we don’t provide our planners with tools to understand these minority populations, they will be at a disadvantage,” he said. “Cities have been notorious places where minority rights have been trampled, so I was doing my bit to try to reorient the training of people who would go on to plan cities.” “And I think it was successful, but it was clearly not in the interest of the political establishment in the state of Florida when I left.”
A “moment of internal control”
Travel boycotts are nothing new in the conference industry.
“It ebbs and flows,” says Jack Johnson, director of advocacy for Destinations International, an association that advocates for tourism professionals and organizations.
In recent decades, states like Arizona, Indiana, and North Carolina have suffered some of the largest and most costly boycotts.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Arizona lost a Super Bowl and dozens of conventions to efforts to cancel the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and two decades later, the Grand Canyon State was back on track. companies, cities and states blacklisted by a controversial immigration enforcement law. In Indiana, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act led to the cancellation of some 12 conventions and the loss of $60 million in economic impact, according to research by Visit Indy; and North Carolina’s proposed “Bathrooms Act” is estimated to cost the state more than $3.7 billion over 12 years, according to an Associated Press analysis.
“Now we have a whole wave of boycotts once morest various states,” Johnson says.
In part, it is due to travel bans imposed by states or localities. California, for example, restricts travel financed and sponsored by its government to 24 states identified for enacting discriminatory laws.
Wind creates ripples on the Stranahan River at sunset on a cloudy November followingnoon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo: Glenn Ross Images/Moment RF/Getty Images)
“In addition, organizations that take a stand on various social issues don’t want to go to several states, including Florida now and probably Tennessee and Texas,” Johnson explained. “Depending on the issue, there may be 20 to 30 states that may be on a list of (organizations) withdrawing or simply avoiding seeking contracts.”
Destination International is strongly opposed to travel boycotts and believes there are better approaches to take if an organization wants to cancel a show for purely political reasons.
“We believe there are better approaches to address the reasons why a show or event may decide not to attend for purely political reasons,” he said.
Visit Lauderdale’s Ritter said boycotting travel can end up hurting the communities you’re trying to support.
“I think that people who don’t live in Florida should recognize that there are 20 million of us who live here,” he said. “We are not monolithic. We are not the Borg. We do not all think as one. And there are destinations in Florida that receive people who do not think like them, who do not look like them, who do not worship like them, who do not identify as them “.
He added: “Just like there are red counties in blue states, there are blue counties in red states that embrace those values, and we are one of them. That’s what we hope people will remember when making their decisions: We’ve always celebrated diversity, we have always been an inclusive destination.
Equality Florida, an organization that advocates for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people, has received a barrage of calls from individuals and organizations wondering if it would be more impactful to travel or spend their dollars elsewhere as a form of protest.
“It’s been heartbreaking to see families flee; it’s been absolutely devastating,” said Nadine Smith, co-founder and CEO of Equality Florida. “Some of our best volunteers, the strongest and most dedicated people have said, ‘I cannot, with a clear conscience, stay where the governor made this a hostile place for my children and our family.’ That being said, there are many people who He stays and fights, and I have nothing but respect for whatever decision they make.”
Smith said this is an “internal scrutiny moment” for companies that have talked regarding diversity and that “everyone is paying attention to who is showing up and who is not.”
He added that he fears that the damage from these laws has already been done and that it will take years to recover.
“The economic erosion thing is like climate change: People say, ‘Oh, we still have tourists and people are still on the beaches.’ Yes, that’s right, and Florida is a beautiful place, but how do you calculate what It is being lost?”. Smith said. “How do you account for what it means for the best and brightest students to take their talents elsewhere following graduation?”
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