TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL)-- In the Capitol City Tuesday, it was all about the future of Florida's biggest economic driver: tourism.
State legislators and tourism leaders gathered at Florida State University's Donald L. Tucker Civic Center for Florida Tourism Day. The goal is to talk with lawmakers about the economic impact of tourism on the state and its residents, and to find new ways to help tourism programs and dollars grow.
Florida's top tourism organizations could see some big changes after the House recently voted to get rid of Enterprise Florida completely and revamp Visit Florida. Visit Florida's new CEO says he can't change some of the group's past controversial business decisions, but he's working toward more accountability and transparency in how the group spends it's millions in state and private dollars.
"We understand what happened in the past. I own it," said Kenneth Lawson, Visit Florida CEO. "Since I've been the leader, what I've done is this: I've hired an outside auditor, David Wilkins, who was the Secretary of Children and Families and an experienced business leader, to review every single contract and make sure I have the knowledge needed to either keep it, renew it or cancel a contract that adds no value to the State of Florida. Those public dollars, they're a sacred trust."
Lawson also says that for every dollar invested in tourism marketing, more than three dollars in business and state revenue is generated.
Tourism brings in more than 106 million tourists a year, creating $2.9 billion in state revenue and nearly 1.4 million jobs.
Potential funding cuts have tourism leaders stressing the importance of their industry to state lawmakers.
"When you look at 25% of our sales tax being paid by the visitor, that's really important. If we're going to keep those tax dollars coming and paid by the visitor, we have to be competitive," said Maryann Ferenc, Mise en Place Hospitality Group President.
