Report: COVID-19 tanked state’s return on VISIT FLORIDA spending
The COVID-19 virus that spurred a global pandemic in 2020 and froze tourism industry vital to Florida’s economy also undercut the effectiveness of the state’s investment in its main tourism marketing agency, VISIT FLORIDA, according to a report by state economists.
The report from the Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) shows that from 2019-2022, the state received 58 cents back for every $1 it invested in VISIT FLORIDA. But it also says the drop in revenues generated by the program was due to the shutdown of the travel industry due to the pandemic.
“The largest contributor to the decline in ROI over this review period was the effect of the COVID health crisis on Florida’s tour...
