Governor announces record tourism numbers in Florida

VIERA - Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday announced record tourism numbers for the Sunshine State in 2016 — and targeted South Brevard Rep. Randy Fine for criticism.

Scott said more than 112.8 million tourists visited Florida last year, including 27.6 million in the fourth quarter.

The 2016 number is a 5.9 percent increase from the 106.6 million tourists who came to Florida in 2015, and the sixth consecutive year of record tourism numbers. The fourth-quarter number also is a record, and a 6.1 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2015.

“We are beating every other state,” Scott said, in announcing the tourism data at a news conference at the Brevard Zoo. “I especially like beating Texas.”

The governor also encouraged supporters of tourism to lobby their state legislators to continue funding for Visit Florida in the coming budget year.

He called out Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, for Fine’s committee vote in favor of a bill that would do away with Visit Florida and the state economic development agency Enterprise Florida. Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, is leading that push in the House.

Scott said tourism is vital to the state’s economy, with 1.4 million jobs in the state and $109 billion in visitor spending tied into tourism.

He said it is wrong for politicians like Fine to vote against Visit Florida.

“We’ve got to continue to market our state,” Scott said. “We have to compete. We all have to be very aggressive. Call Randy Fine and call other House members,” to ask them to support Visit Florida.

In anticipation of the governor’s remarks, Fine sent a letter to Scott on Wednesday, in which he sought to quash the dissension between the governor and Florida House members over Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida.

“We don’t want to be your enemy,” Fine wrote. “We want to be your partners in making Florida the best place in America to start, build and grow a business.”

Fine also sought “a constructive meeting” with the governor to discuss Scott’s views on economic development and to “focus on finding common ground to achieve what I believe all of us want — an even stronger and more vibrant economy so all Floridians can prosper. Rather than us talking at each other in the media, I’d prefer to talk to you in person.”

Fine said he was invited to the Viera news conference, but wasn’t able to be there because he was attending House committee meetings in Tallahassee.

Asked Thursday about Fine’s letter, Scott said he meets regularly with Florida House and Senate members. But Scott said, as governor, he feels justified to fight for issues he believes in. And that includes continuation of Visit Florida.

The governor’s proposed 2017-18 budget includes $76 million for Visit Florida.

Scott said he is “very, very, very disappointed” with the “politicians in Tallahassee” who oppose the tourism agency. Without Visit Florida, Scott said, “we’re going to lose jobs.”

Fine was one of nine Republicans and one Democrat on the House Careers and Competition Subcommittee who voted in favor of the bill to eliminate Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida. Four Democrats and one Republican voted no.

Fine told FLORIDA TODAY last week that he is concerned about the “questionable business practices” of Visit Florida, including what he said has been a lack of transparency about its spending.

Fine said he also had concerns about:

• A $1 million contract with Miami hip-hop artist Armando Christian Perez, better known as Pitbull, to promote Florida tourism, partly through his “Sexy Beaches” video.
• Sponsorship deals between Visit Florida and the London-based Fulham Football Club soccer team for $1.25 million and an International Motor Sports Association racing team for $2.9 million.
• The severance agreement made with former Visit Florida President and Chief Executive Officer Will Seccombe.

2016 tourism numbers mixed in Lee, Collier counties

Collier and Lee counties welcomed fewer visitors in 2016.

The silver lining is that they spent more.

Research for Lee County shows 2016 visitor direct spending rose to more than $3 billion, up 1.3 percent year-over-year.

The estimate for total visitors, however, dipped 2.2 percent, to slightly over 4.8 million.

These estimates include people staying with family and friends here, as well as those using paid accommodations.

Collier County tourism research focuses on visitors to commercial lodgings.

It estimated direct spending from this visitor segment at more than $1.9 billion, up from slightly over $1.3 billion in 2015.

Total visitation using paid lodgings dipped 2 percent year-over-year, to nearly 1.8 million.

Tourism promoters will point out that having slightly fewer visitors who spend a little more is not so terrible.

Fewer visitors mean less wear-and-tear on lodging properties. Greater spending on lodgings pumps up tourist development tax collections, which are used to promote the area to visitors and to maintain and enhance beaches and shorelines.

Laura Ruane