Will Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law Hurt Its $97 Billion Tourism Industry? – Forbes

For Disney CEO Bob Chapek, last week may have felt like running a gauntlet through a minefield. His initial refusal to publicly criticize the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill passed by Florida’s legislature drew swift and intense backlash from both outside and within the company.

Then came a cleanup. On Wednesday, Chapek said at the company’s annual meeting that Disney was against Florida’s bill and had joined more than 180 other companies in signing a position statement opposing anti-LGBTQ state legislation. Chapek also announced that the company would donate $5 million to LGBTQ rights organizations.

Human Rights Campaign, the largest of those groups, promptly rejected the donation, responding that it was a welcome first step, but Disney could keep its money “until meaningful action is taken.”

Next, Chapek announced that Disney would pause all political donations in Florida. Campaign finance reports show that Disney donated roughly $4.8 million to Florida candidates on both sides of the aisle, including $50,000 directly to Governor Ron DeSantis. In response, DeSantis called Disney ‘woke’ and accused the company of doing the bidding of “Communist China”.

Nobody ever said taking on Florida’s political machine was for the feint of heart—which may be why so few companies in the tourism industry have done it. Visit Florida and Visit Orlando, the state’s two largest tourism organizations, tout their pro-LGBTQ bona fides at every opportunity. It is simultaneously notable and unsurprising that neither organization has commented publicly on the bill.

Crickets, too, from Florida’s non-Disney theme parks and all the major cruise lines, which are all headquartered in Florida. Universal Orlando Resort, Florida’s second largest theme park resort, did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment.

On its website, Celebrity Cruises touts same-sex weddings on its ships and bills itself as “the best cruise line for gay, lesbian and all LGBTQ+ guests.” But Celebrity also did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment, kicking it instead to its parent company. “As diversity and inclusion are part of our core values, Royal Caribbean Group has been a leader in equality and equity for all, and we support all our LBGTQ employees and their families,” said a brief, emailed statement from Jonathan Fishman, Royal Caribbean’s Director of Corporate and Incident Communications.

The Politics of Tourism

“Politics and divisive issues can impact travel destinations,” said Jan Louise Jones, professor of hospitality and tourism at the University of New Haven. “This decision comes at a time when many states are actively looking for ways to create more inclusive marketing.”

In recent years, boycotts of states have seen some success in affecting change, from Mike Pence’s flip-flop in Indiana on “religious freedom” in 2015 to the partial repeal of North Carolina’s so-called “Bathroom Bill” in 2018.

If there were a to be a similar widespread movement to boycott Florida, the stakes could be sky high. “Tourism is Florida’s top economic driver,” according to a 2019 report from Visit Florida, which boasted 131 million out-of-state visitors fueling an economic injection of $97 billion into the state. “That’s more than the entire GDP of 13 states,” the report noted.

There is often a huge disconnect between what a company says and what it does with its campaign contributions.

Tourism boycotts don’t just lead to rebooked vacations. They can mean cancelled sporting tournaments, relocated conferences and concerts—and these movements can gain steam over time. More and more, companies based in states that propose controversial laws are expected to get off the sidelines and weigh in. Last year, a new voting law in Georgia prompted boycotts and a widespread backlash from the state’s business community, as well as a slew of corporations around the country warning legislators not to follow suit in their states.

Is Florida any different? There’s a deeply symbiotic relationship between lawmakers and businesses in the Sunshine State, said Robert Niles, founder and editor of Theme Park Insider, a 21-year-old consumer guide to theme parks. “Florida has long maintained a very large and lucrative buffet of giveaways to businesses,” he said. “If you need a tax break, if you need a zoning variance, if you need some regulations tweaked, Florida has burned a reputation of being, as they like to say, very business-friendly. This is the way business has always been done in Florida.”

“Companies are hoping that the public just doesn’t notice they are making pro-LGBTQ statements on one hand and giving money to Republican legislators across the country with the other,” continued Niles. “But I think people are learning that there is often a huge disconnect between what a company says and what it does with its campaign contributions.”

On the other hand, a divisive law that is repellent to one group can be can be appealing to another. “As with any other sensitive topic, some people may avoid Florida and others may flock there because it aligns with their beliefs,” said Jones.

That’s a point Florida’s governor’s team likes to make. “Last year saw the highest level of domestic tourism in the history of our state. In both Q3 and Q4 of 2021, tourism in Florida exceeded the same quarters of 2019 – pre-pandemic levels. So, Florida is one of the few places in the world where more people are visiting now than before the pandemic,” said Governor DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, in an email to Forbes. “Many of the tourists in Florida have visited us from states with mandates and restrictions, to enjoy the freedoms and sense of normalcy that Florida has become renowned for, under Governor DeSantis’ leadership. This is something that everyone can appreciate, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.”

What’s In the Bill, Anyway?

Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill prohibits classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity before fourth grade. “I’d assume that most people talking about a boycott have not actually read the bill,” said Pushaw. “Many have been misled by the appalling media bias.”

Still, the governor’s office itself has appeared confused at times over whether the bill is anti-LGBTQ or not. Pushaw pointed out that “the bill does not ban the word ‘gay’ in Florida. Moreover, it does not single out any sexual orientation or group of people.”

Maybe the governor didn’t get that memo. Pushaw shared a video on Twitter of DeSantis telling supporters in Boca Raton, “In the state of Florida, we are not going to allow them to inject transgenderism into kindergarten. First graders shouldn’t have woke gender ideology in their curriculum and that is what we’re standing for, because we’re standing for the kids, and we’re standing for the parents.” DeSantis then added that companies like Disney “are going to criticize the fact that we don’t want transgenderism in kindergarten and first grade classrooms.”

LGBTQ groups say DeSantis’ comments flew in the face of Chapek’s claim that DeSantis had committed “to make sure that this law could not be weaponized in any way by individuals in the state or groups in the state to unduly harm or target gay, lesbian, nonbinary or transgender kids and families.”

If this legislation continues to be an even bigger political hot potato, tourism juggernauts may find it harder to remain neutral in Florida’s politically charged waters. “The Venn diagram of politicians who support corporate welfare, and those who support progressive social values no longer overlap,” said Niles. “So that’s put Disney and, frankly, everybody else, in the situation of ‘the politicians who are supporting us from the business side are now making us look bad on the social side.’”

Meanwhile, Team DeSantis has vowed not to back down. “If anyone actually boycotts Florida because they’re upset about the lack of sex and gender theory instruction in our kindergarten through third grade classrooms, I’m confident that our state is better off without them,” said Pushaw.

And on that, Visit Florida declined to comment.

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