Florida Governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis shared the bold graphic below which shows a dramatic increase in tourism in the Sunshine State.
DeSantis writes: “From July to September, Florida had 35.1 million visitors, which is a record for the third quarter and puts our state on pace for another a record-setting year.”
From July to September, Florida had 35.1 million visitors, which is a record for the third quarter and puts our state on pace for another a record-setting year.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 16, 2023
Thanks to our freedom first agenda, Florida’s tourism industry is thriving. pic.twitter.com/p1sBxe4bFK
The graphic boasts an unusual 35.1 million visitors during the hottest months of the year and hurricane season (July-September), showcasing that quarterly performance with the overall numbers.
With a 9-month total of 105.2 million tourists, the third quarter aligned with the first two for an average of 35 million tourists every three months, no matter the weather.
While it’s hard given all the moving pieces to responsibly attribute the increase to any specific factor, DeSantis nevertheless gives the credit to his anti-woke policies, writing: “Thanks to our freedom first agenda, Florida’s tourism industry is thriving.”
Since DeSantis has been Governor since 2019, pitching Florida as a “freedom” state since he was elected, he may be overstating the impact of his policies on this year’s tourism stats.
As one contrary Floridian replied to the Governor: “People visit for the weather and theme parks. It’s not because of your anti-woke/freedom first agenda.”
But that rebuff can be seen as an overstatement too: the Florida weather and theme parks have been a constant since well before 2019, so these factors can’t account for the increase either.
Earlier this year, non-profit organizations including the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens issued travel advisories about Florida due to the Governor’s “anti-woke” efforts.
These include DeSantis signature legislation such as the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act (a.k.a. “Don’t Say Gay” bill), his defunding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at state colleges and universities, and rejecting AP African American classes, among other decisions.
The NAACP wrote in its advisory:
Please be advised that Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the State of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of and the challenges faced by African Americans and other minorities.
Despite the overall tourism rise, the state’s #1 theme park Disney World — which has fought publicly with DeSantis — has reported lower attendance numbers this year. But professional travel agencies like Frommer’s point to the economy as the number one cause of the decline, not politics.
Some observers believe DeSantis’s policies deserve neither credit for the alleged increases, nor blame for the smaller numbers at Disney.
The conservative magazine National Review reports that the Disney downturn probably isn’t because of DeSantis‘s “anti-woke” war against the Walt Disney Company: “It’s as likely that the exorbitant admission prices to the parks—which has risen considerably faster than the rate of inflation over the past four decades—are having a comparable or larger deterrent effect.”
A survey in late 2022 by LendingTree survey found that nearly a fifth of Disney visitors (18%) said they took on debt to pay for their vacations.
