From Gay Days at Disney to Fantasy Fest in Key West to the Stonewall Pride parade (and Floatarama) in Fort Lauderdale to numerous Pride events and filmfests and vibrant nightlife around the state, Florida is filled with LGBTQ+-friendly events and vacation destinations.
But you wouldn’t know it to look at Florida’s official tourism site. Not anymore.
NBC News was the first to report that sometime earlier this year the state tourism marketing board quietly dropped the “LGBTQ Travel in Florida” page from VisitFlorida.com.
“There’s a sense of freedom to Florida’s beaches,” says an archived copy from April on the Internet Archive, “the warm weather and the myriad activities – a draw for people of all orientations, but especially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance.
“Whether you’re a couple seeking a romantic getaway or a modern family searching for kid-friendly fun, here are some LGBTQ-friendly destinations for you, throughout the Sunshine State,” Florida once said.
Florida’s official tourism site once had extensive LGBTQ suggestions
“Top 10 Gay Beaches,” “LGBTQ-Friendly Destinations,” “LGBTQ Chambers of Commerce, “LGBTQ Road Trips,” “Florida Pride Events Guide.” The Florida tourism site once advertised a wealth of LGBTQ points of interest in the Sunshine State for locals and visitors (links go to archived pages, if you want to see).
The destinations still exist, but the state is no longer helping you find them. The original landing page now redirects to the general “things to do” page.
So far Visit Florida has not returned media requests for comment.
Some cities, such as Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, St. Petersburg, and Key West still have LGBTQ+ sections on their own tourism sites, and websites such as outcoast.com and gaytravel.com still have Florida guides.
Florida becoming less LGBTQ+ friendly
Under Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-dominated Florida Legislature, the state has worked to limit LGBTQ+ visibility.
- In 2021, Florida passed the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” to prohibit biological males from competing on female sports teams.
- The same year Moms for Liberty formed as a far right organization against mandatory COVID safety in schools but it also encouraged challenging and banning books in school libraries it felt were unsuitable. Through concentrated efforts increased drastically in Florida and nationwide, with many of the books in question having themes of LGBTQ+ issues, violence or sexual abuse, bulling, health and wellbeing, and themes of race and racism. Many school districts pulled books from the shelves to be on the safe side. DeSantis often appeared with Moms for Liberty leaders at events.
- In 2022, Florida legislators voted to ban gender-affirming care for Floridians under 18 and Florida Medicaid stopped covering such care for anyone.
- The biggest move in 2022 was the Parental Rights in Education bill (HB 1557), more commonly known by its critics as “Don’t Say Gay,” which, among other things, prohibits bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade (later expanded to higher grades). It also prohibits discussions that aren’t “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” in remaining grades.
- DeSantis entered into a very public two-year battle with Disney over the then-CEO’s condemnation of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, resulting in multiple lawsuits, a hostile takeover of Disney’s property governing board, threats to open competing theme parks or a next-door state prison, and countless presidential campaign speeches against “woke” companies.
- Florida legislators pushed a number of anti-LGBTQ+ laws in 2023, including:
- HB 1069, which, among other things, defines sex and the usage of pronouns in public schools and restricts books that include undefined “sexual conduct” from grades that are not age-suitable
- HB 1521, which separates bathrooms by “biological sex” in all publicly-owned buildings, including public schools and universities
- SB 254, which further restricts gender-affirming care for transgender adults and children and allows one parent to legally take children away from another if transgender healthcare is being provided
- SB 1438, which blocks venues from allowing children at “adult live performances” — defined vaguely enough to potentially block drag shows and Pride parades — with threats of hefty fines and loss of license
- SB 1580, which allows Florida health care providers and payors to refuse services based on their moral, ethical or religious beliefs
- In 2024, the Florida Department of Transportation effectively blocked the traditional Pride lights displays on the Acosta Bridge in Jacksonville, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa and the John Ringling Causeway Bridge in Sarasota by requiring red, white and blue ones during Pride month. (A Jacksonville group made one anyway, with LED flashlights.)
DeSantis has also waged war against DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies in education and business and overhauled the New College of Florida in Sarasota, long a top public liberal arts college, to forcibly redesign it along conservative guidelines. This month the college made national headlines again when a dumpster full of books, many of then with LGBTQ+ themes, was spotted.
Many of the laws have been challenged and some have been at least partially blocked, usually on First Amendment grounds.
Stop WOKE stopped:Federal judge permanently blocks part of Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, pushed by Gov. DeSantis
LGBTQ+ community warned to avoid Florida
Last year the LGBTQ+ civil rights group Equality Florida and the Human Rights Campaign issued travel advisories against Florida due to the number of “hostile” anti-LGBTQ laws passed in 2023.
The state was listed on the Safe Home blog as second-to-last on its list of LGBTQ+ safety. California banned state-funded travel to Florida back in 2021 because of laws that discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community. Last year, Canada, the top international source of visitors to Florida, updated its travel advisory to warn that “some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect” LGBTQ people traveling in the U.S.
The 2022 State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index from the global business advisory Out Leadership dropped Florida down in the list of states welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community. A 2023 report from the organization said that “Florida is losing millions of dollars of business as a result of Governor DeSantis’ ‘anti-woke’ bills.”
In May, DeSantis announced record-breaking tourism numbers for 2023 showing more than 140.6 million visitors to the state.
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