Florida Quietly Removed LGBTQ Landing Page from Its State Tourism Website

NBC Reports on the Deletion of Content from Visit Florida Website

Tourism is Florida's Number One Industry

By Elsie Carson-Holt | Saturday, August 24, 2024 Florida has removed the LGBTQ section from its state tourism website, according to NBC News. The deletion of content was first reported by NBC News. Tourism is Florida's number one industry. Last year, the Sunshine State welcomed 140.6 million out-of-state visitors. Visit Florida is a public-private partnership between the state of Florida and the state's tourism industry. The state contributes about $50 million each year to Visit Florida.

Visit Florida's official tourism website has a landing page for the state's LGBTQ-friendly travel destinations. The removal of the LGBTQ landing page was first reported by Equality Florida, an LGBTQ civil rights group. Equality Florida said the removal of the landing page was "a clear message that LGBTQ people are not welcome in Florida." This is not the first time that Florida has been accused of being hostile to LGBTQ people. In 2021, the Florida Legislature passed a bill that would have restricted the rights of transgender people. The bill was vetoed by Governor Ron DeSantis.

The removal of the LGBTQ landing page from Visit Florida's website is the latest in a series of actions taken by the state government that have been criticized by LGBTQ advocates. Equality Florida has called on Visit Florida to reinstate the LGBTQ landing page. The Human Rights Campaign, another LGBTQ civil rights group, has also criticized the removal of the LGBTQ landing page. The Human Rights Campaign said the removal of the landing page "sends a dangerous message that LGBTQ people are not welcome in Florida."