With a family trip to Orlando planned this past June, Ashley, a transgender lesbian from Texas, was wary of traveling to Florida, another state that had passed a slate of anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
The flurry of legislation signed into law since 2020 in the Sunshine State has run the gamut from the so-called “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill, which limits the discussion of sexuality and gender identity in Florida schools, to laws regarding bathroom use by transgender individuals. Others have sought to restrict access to gender-affirming care or performances from drag artists.
Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, was also among the civil rights organizations who issued travel warnings for those considering long- or short-term travel or relocation to the state.
“The move comes in response to a wave of safety inquiries Equality Florida has received following the passage of laws that are hostile to the LGBTQ community, restrict access to reproductive health care, repeal gun safety laws, foment racial prejudice, and attack public education by banning books and censoring curriculum,” the organization shared in April.
This all weighed heavily on Ashley, who asked that her last name not be published, as she made vacation plans. She ultimately decided to visit along with her mother from North Carolina, who loves Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, and her gay cousin from Miami.
While she enjoyed her time in Florida, she says she was “apprehensive” about “the new laws and the social environment.”
“I didn’t know what to expect when I got to Florida,” she says. “The new laws didn’t go into effect until after I left so that wasn’t a big worry, but I had no idea what the atmosphere was going to be like going in. When you see actual Nazis protesting at Disney it kind of makes you go, ‘Wow.’”
Neo-Nazi groups have routinely rallied outside the most magical place on Earth since 2020, even as recently as Sept. 2, spewing anti-Semitic slogans and other hateful comments.
There were no Nazi protests when Ashley visited. Instead, she found LGBTQ+ Pride-themed merchandise throughout the theme parks, and even murals supporting the community at Orlando International Airport and Epcot.
“What it made me realize is the vast majority of people don’t care about this culture war stuff,” she says. Even so, with the Florida legislation now in effect, she’s holding off on future travel she had planned to the state — and even put off a move. “I have grave concerns about how things are going everywhere and Florida seems to be on the leading edge of this culture war of hatred and bigotry thanks to the efforts of the governor,’ she says.
For now, all she can do is keep a watchful eye on the news to see how things change before she visits again or decides to relocate. But she’s not the only vacationer who is on the fence about Florida.
Jessica Torres and her family, including her oldest child who is 14 and nonbinary, lives just six miles from Disneyland in California. They visit the parks two to four times a month.
They’re true “Disney people,” she says, who regularly travel to Orlando to visit Walt Disney World. They stay at WDW resorts before and after cruises that leave from Florida.
The family has tentative plans to visit Disney World next summer, “but it’s also contingent on how our oldest child feels,” Torres explains. “As of now, they have said they’re fine presenting as their assigned gender at birth if we go, but they also understand that in no way will we make them do anything they’re not comfortable with just for the sake of a vacation.”
Florida’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws “are absolutely horrible,” she adds. “These laws being passed controlling how others live and what type of healthcare they can have access to is beyond unconstitutional and inhumane.”
Rosemary Higgs, an LGBTQ+ ally who has a trans granddaughter, is paying close attention to what’s happening in Florida as well. Now retired, for the past four years she and her husband have split their time between Georgia, not far from Chattanooga, at an RV resort near Winter Haven. She calls Florida’s new laws “hateful,” “pitiful” and “disheartening,” but adds that “being so close to Tennessee, we’re used to it.”
So far, she hasn’t personally felt uncomfortable in Central Florida. “But we try not to bring up politics,” Higgs says. “The vast majority of people are very nice. Of course, looking at [a cisgender, heterosexual couple], they wouldn’t target us.”
But with the LGBTQ+ community in mind, she pays close attention to news coming out of the Sunshine State.
“It hasn’t affected us yet, but it could,” she says. “We will deal with things as they come. The more we flee from it, the bolder they’re gonna be. We have to get up and just face it. If we say, ‘Don’t go there,’ then they’re gonna think they won.”
Nadine Smith, co-founder and CEO of Equality Florida, says the organization’s LGBTQ+ travel warning was, unfortunately, a necessary move in the wake of the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
Like these visitors, many others were wondering if it was safe to come to Florida, she notes.
“From the time the bills passed and became law, we were inundated with people asking us if they should come to Florida, should they cancel conferences, was it safe, and our response was, ‘We can’t answer that for you. What we can do is give a clear understanding of what the law is, the impact it’s having and let you think for yourselves.’”
The travel warning was more about providing the information people needed as they planned their trips, rather than encouraging them to avoid Florida.
“How do you determine that for another person? We wanted to give them what they needed so they could decide for themselves,” Smith explains. “The advisory has been a tool that a lot of people have used.”
She knows of many families who have chosen to move out of state in the wake of Florida’s new legislation, she also says, and numerous retirees who are selling their vacation homes.
“Their kids and grandkids don’t want to visit this place,” she notes. “This was their summer getaway and now it doesn’t feel safe for that.”
Smith says conventions and conferences have also canceled events in Florida because of the legislation, and that event planners are no longer suggesting the state as a destination for their clients.
According to CNN, at least a dozen organizations have announced plans to cancel or relocate large-scale events set to take place in Florida this summer, costing the state millions of dollars.
Conferences canceled at the Orange County Convention Center include the 2024 AnitaB.org Grace Hopper Celebration, the 2024 National Society of Black Engineers’ 50th annual convention, the 2025 American Education Research Association annual meeting, and the 2027 Association of periOperative Registered Nurses Global Surgical Conference & Expo.
Some in Florida’s tourism industry think travel warnings like Equality Florida’s could do more harm than good, however, especially for smaller, independently owned businesses.
“It doesn’t help, I don’t think,” says Brian Longstreth, owner of Tampa Bay’s Casa del Merman at GayStPete House and Casa del Merman at GayMontanita House in Ecuador. “It’s frustrating. I don’t think it was a good move because it brands all of Florida as the same.
“There are many inclusive and welcoming parts of the state,” he continues. “Wilton Manors, Miami, the I-4 corridor and, of course, St. Petersburg. They’ve always been pretty blue and are pretty safe for travelers of diverse areas.”
Even before the travel warning, business was down at the GayStPete House. Before the new anti-LGBTQ+ laws passed, business was up 20% over the previous year, he notes; this year, business is down 10%.
“So about a 30% swing,” he notes. “I’ve seen that some guests are shortening their stays or changing their plans entirely and it’s a direct result of the policies that the governor and legislature have passed.”
Longstreth, a realtor and cheerleader for St. Petersburg who co-founded major LGBTQ+ events like St Pete Pride and Come OUT St. Pete, says he routinely has difficult conversations when promoting the city in LGBTQ travel-related groups and forums.
“It’s hard to even mention to people, ‘Come visit St. Pete,’ without getting attacked and people saying, ‘We’re never going back there again,’” he says. “St. Pete is LGBTQ+-friendly, but people aren’t seeing that with everything going on. It’s painful.”
Rachel Covello, publisher of OutCoast and founder of FLOCC, Florida’s first and only LGBTQ+-focused tourism conference that launched in Tampa last month, also has misgivings about travel warnings.
“Based on what I’ve read and seen working with destinations, those that open their doors and arms to inclusive travelers suffer the most when advisories and boycotts happen,” she says. “I don’t think it’s the most effective way to go. It’s harmful to these businesses.”
She adds, “What’s happening in Florida — whether you look at our governor, the laws that are changing, the advisory, the branding of ‘Don’t Say Gay — it’s been a perfect storm of ‘Don’t go to Florida.’ This hurts our inclusive destinations and businesses.”
Covello is worried that it paints a distorted image of Florida for those outside of the Sunshine State.
“What’s being shared outside Florida is that Florida’s not welcoming. I personally don’t believe in that statement on a broad spectrum,” she says. “I certainly can see the other side and empathize with people. If I were a parent of a trans child, I probably would not live in or even visit Florida … But as a traveler, I see things differently.
“You can find mean people anywhere,” she continues. “Look at what just happened at the retail store [where an owner was shot and killed over flying a Pride flag.] That was in California … one of the most LGBTQ-welcoming states.”
She finds it “ironic that the destinations hurting the most are the ones that are the most inclusive,” she adds. “Wilton Manors is one of the gayest places in Florida and you’re hearing about conventions not going there. That directly impacts people not exploring its businesses when they’re in town.”
The state’s new laws aren’t just affecting current events; they will have an impact for years to come.
“If you’re planning a convention, you’re not just planning a convention for 2024, but also 2025, 2026, even beyond that,” Covello notes. “Many have taken Florida completely off the list as potential destinations. It’s lost revenue for our state and our businesses.”
It isn’t only LGBTQ+-focused groups who aren’t visiting, she stresses. “It’s groups that might have LGBTQ board members or LGBTQ people within an organization. The organizing committee wants to make sure all attendees feel included and, in their minds, that means not coming to Florida.”
Covello’s takeaway “is if nothing changes or improves in Florida, if we don’t continue to travel here, if we don’t continue to stay here and work to make the change here, then they win.”
Daniel Sohn, president and CEO of The Pride Chamber in Orlando, also has concerns about travel warnings. He notes that it’s important to highlight “that there are still very inclusive cities and counties throughout the state of Florida, places that are championing safety and health above all, and Orange County happens to be one of those counties.”
Sohn adds, “We want to make sure we amplify the message that Florida is still a great place to live, work, play, worship, go to school, do business and, yes, visit. This is just a small blip on Florida. We’re still a great state.”
Like Covello and Longstreth, he’s worried about the impact of warnings and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation on small businesses.
“We’re certainly seeing it already,” he says. “While we understand these travel advisories and will not stand in the way of those who are scared and doing what’s best for their families, we [at the Chamber] are here to support them, to support businesses. We are in this for the long fight. We’re going to stand with the community.”
He has also watched as conferences and events have pulled out or scaled back their plans in Central Florida. In July, the National Education Association held its annual conference in Orlando, drawing educators, school administrators and other staff members from across the country. While the organization didn’t cancel the event, there was a dip in attendance, says Sohn, who was invited out one evening by the NEA’s LGBT caucus.
“I had great conversations with people and asked them, ‘How many usually attend this?’ They told me between 15,000 and 18,000 annually,” he says. “This year, they were down to about 10,000 people. That’s money not being spent locally — and the reason why was because those in the LGBT community, the Black community, the Hispanic community, or those with family members in these communities, just weren’t comfortable being here.”
Equality Florida understands the need to support small businesses in the state, especially those that are inclusive and welcoming, Smith says. “It’s the laws that are bad for business. The travel advisory just describes the laws. Let’s be clear on the cause and effect here.”
The organization encourages “businesses that are open to all people and that have taken a clear stand against discrimination” to sign up for Open Doors Florida, its statewide directory for businesses that support equality. The organization has even waived the sign-up fees.
“If I’m spending money, I want to know where it’s going,” Smith says. “It’s a great resource for conferences and travelers, so they know they’re spending their money in the places that support equality. It’s a way to use your voice against these hateful laws while you’re here. We vote every day in how we spend our money.”
As for regional tourism agencies, while there isn’t enough data yet to fully gauge the impact of Florida’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, the organizations are working to spread the message that there are inclusive areas of the state ready to welcome visitors.
As part of its marketing efforts, Visit St. Pete Clearwater specifically advertises in LGBTQ+ magazines and publications around the country.
“We want to reassure them that we’re a welcoming destination for them,” Brian Lowack, the agency’s interim CEO and president says. “We pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive destination. We’re safe and welcoming to everyone and we hope folks come here. We’re confident they can be themselves and enjoy their vacation or whatever they’re here for.”
He adds, “We have plenty of beaches, hotels and businesses that are welcoming to the community. … Once people see how inclusive we are, they’re going to make us a repeat stop for vacation travels.”
Visit Tampa Bay stresses that as well.
“Tampa Bay is proud to be a shining example of inclusivity and warmth, embracing people from all walks of life with open arms,” says Santiago Corrada, its president and CEO. “This year alone, we welcomed more than 20 major conventions with an economic impact on the community of more than $68 million.
“Conventions range from medical conferences to fraternities … and FLOCC, Florida’s first LGBTQ conference,” he continues. “The diverse variety of conventions speaks to the breadth of our community and the 51,000 people in Hillsborough County that directly support their families and secure their futures through tourism. Whether you are a resident or visitor, you’ll find Tampa Bay encourages an environment where everyone can thrive.”
Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando, champions the city as a safe destination for LGBTQ+ travelers as well.
She says that LGBTQ+ visitors represent about 6% of total domestic visitors to the city — about 4 million visitors —with an estimated economic impact of $3.1 billion.
“Orlando has always been and will continue to be a diverse, welcoming and inclusive community,” she says. “As the top travel destination in the country and longstanding leader in the travel industry, our community has a history of welcoming all to our destination.”
Organizations like the Pride Chamber fully embrace that fact.
“If I had one message for travelers, it would be this: come. Come stay in Central Florida,” Sohn says. “If you’re concerned about safety, go to places that are safe and know that we’re going to be here to protect you. Our public safety personnel are here to protect you.
“Our legislative officials are here to protect you,” he continues. “Eat in our restaurants. Spend money in our businesses. Go to our gay bars. Champion Black businesses from Sanford all the way down. Come experience what we have to offer.”
