Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Michael MolineJanuary 26, 2017

Tourism business owners flocked to a Senate committee room Thursday to plead the case for Visit Florida, the state’s embattled tourism promotions agency. Representing both large operations and independent hotels and restaurants, they urged members of the Appropriations Committee to let the agency continue to sell Florida to potential tourists in the United States and overseas. […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 6, 2017

Is Ken Lawson the right man to right the state’s beleaguered tourism agency? The smart money in Tallahassee now is betting on Gov. Rick Scott to move Lawson, his secretary of Business and Professional Regulation, to head VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s “official tourism marketing corporation.” As you’ll recall, Scott called on former CEO Will Seccombe […]

Peter SchorschDecember 16, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott has confirmed the firings of Chief Operating Officer Vangie McCorvey and Chief Marketing Officer Paul Phipps at Visit Florida, the state’s tourism agency. Scott was in Orlando Friday to release the latest unemployment figures. CEO Will Seccombe suddenly postponed a quarterly staff meeting scheduled for Friday morning to the afternoon. Speculation was that he was heading to the Governor’s Office […]

Michael MolineDecember 15, 2016

Senate budget chairman Jack Latvala isn’t interested in balancing state government’s books on the backs of counties hit hard by the BP oil spill. And he believes the state might have to let local property taxes increase along with home values. All in the name of meeting pressing needs in a state in decent financial shape now, but […]

Michael MolineDecember 14, 2016

A key state senator on Wednesday endorsed House Speaker Richard Corcoran‘s lawsuit seeking to open Visit Florida’s contract with the rapper Pitbull to promote tourism. “That’s a public record,” said Sen. Jeff Brandes, chairman of the Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development Subcommittee, which oversees Visit Florida. Corcoran sued in state court Tuesday seeking permission to subject […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 21, 2016

With Gov. Rick Scott in Jacksonville announcing record-setting tourism numbers and attributing them to VISIT FLORIDA, it was only natural that Paul Astleford, who heads up Visit Jacksonville, would have his say on the “big numbers.” With Visit Jacksonville under scrutiny for travel expenses, and with its contract due for renewal in a year, Astleford took advantage of the […]

Associated PressOctober 10, 2016

When Christa Savva returned to the Sandy Shoes Beach Resort a day after Hurricane Matthew brushed by Melbourne Beach, Florida, she looked at the beach in front of the pink-flamingo-colored hotel and noticed that half the sand dunes had disappeared. Savva guesses three-quarters of the missing dunes washed into the ocean, and the remaining quarter […]

Joe HendersonSeptember 18, 2016

We love the water around here. We boat on it, haul fish from it, swim in it, and build houses that provide spectacular views of it. Water is such a big deal around here that many people identify us not by the actual places where we live, but by the catchall name of Tampa Bay. […]

Tamara LushAugust 7, 2016

Thank goodness it’s the slow season in Florida. At least that’s what officials and representatives of the state’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry are thinking in the wake of the news that 16 people have been infected with Zika in a small, trendy neighborhood in Miami. The outbreak has sent another chill through the Sunshine State’s all-important […]

Scott PowersJune 28, 2016

The NFL is getting the money it wants to bring the Pro Bowl All-Star Game to Orlando in 2017, ’18 and ’19. The Orange County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to approve spending $1 million a year in tourism development tax to bring the Pro Bowl to Camping World Stadium. The board also approved $137,000 a year […]

Tag: tourism

Visit Florida defenders swarm Senate Appropriations Committee hearing

Could Ken Lawson next be tapped to head VISIT FLORIDA?

Visit Florida axes top officials after Pitbull controversy

Jack Latvala not keen on raiding oil spill fund to balance state budget

Jeff Brandes backs House lawsuit to make Pitbull contract public

Paul Astleford says Visit Jacksonville gets results

Storm wipes out Florida sand crucial for protection, tourism

Joe Henderson: Polluted water in St. Pete leaves little room for mistake

Florida officials go into damage-control mode over Zika

Orange County approves Pro Bowl money