How mounting Florida travel advisories could impact Jacksonville and the state as a whole

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The NAACP is warning Black Americans to avoid traveling to Florida.

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The travel advisory comes in response to new state laws targeting diversity, equity and inclusion and how race is taught in public schools.

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It is the fourth travel advisory issued for Florida in the past two months and this one comes from arguably the most high-profile group so far.

Equality Florida and the Florida Immigrant Coalition were the first groups to issue travel advisories for the Sunshine State.

The League of United Latin American Citizens issued its advisory last week.

The NAACP’s advisory warns, “Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color”.

“Banning books, diversity, equity, inclusion, critical race theory. All of this has a direct impact on people of color,” Isaiah Rumlin, President of the Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP said.

Rumlin said the intent of the advisory is simple.

“Encouraging people not to travel and spend dollars within the state,” Rumlin said.

Related Story: Formal travel advisory issued for Florida by national NAACP

State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) said she supports the advisory, but has concerns there could be some negative impacts on Jacksonville’s economy, particularly in the sports realm.

“Some sports teams and some athletes may take a stand, a righteous stand rightfully so, in regards to not wanting to come to Florida,” Nixon said.

Rumlin indicated the NAACP is likely to urge sports teams to support the advisory.

“I’m pretty sure that the national office, although this has just been passed, will be getting in contact and making contact with the NBA, the NFL other professional teams informing them of the situation that we’re having in Florida,” Rumlin said.

On the other hand, Governor Ron DeSantis dismissed the threat of the advisory when the Florida chapter first called for it in March, labeling it a ‘joke’ and a ‘stunt’.

“If you want to waste your time on a stunt that’s fine, but I’m not wasting my time on your stunts, okay?” DeSantis said when Action News Jax asked the Governor about the advisory at a press conference in Orange Park.

Read: NAACP Jacksonville throws support behind DCPS superintendent in newly released statement

The Governor also compared the threat of travel advisories to warnings about visiting Florida during the pandemic.

“These people would be on CNN, all this stuff, slamming Florida saying we were so bad, don’t go to Florida and they would end up being spotted on the beach somewhere vacationing in Florida,” DeSantis said.

New data seems to suggest the recent travel advisories have been largely ineffective.

Just one day prior to the NAACP making its advisory official, DeSantis touted new tourism numbers on Twitter, boasting that the state saw a record 37.9 million visitors in the first quarter of 2023.

It was something the Governor alluded to during the March press conference.

“We’re proud to be leading the nation in tourism,” DeSantis said.

Watch: Equality Florida issues travel advisory to LGBTQ+ visitors

But there is some precedent for Nixon’s fear the advisory could impact sports.

Arizona had its opportunity to host the 1993 Superbowl stripped by the NFL for being the last state to adopt Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday.

More recently, Georgia lost a 2021 MLB All-Star game in response to the passage a controversial voting law.

That could be bad news for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While the franchise didn’t respond to Action New Jax’s inquiry asking if the team had any concerns regarding the mounting travel advisories, Mayor-Elect Donna Deegan (D-Jacksonville) did issue a statement regarding the NAACP’s advisory.

“Jacksonville’s strength lies in its diversity, making our city a better place for all who live in and visit it. Throughout my campaign, I made a steadfast commitment to bringing everyone to the table and creating a unified Jacksonville, and as the mayor-elect, I promise that under my leadership we will celebrate this beautiful mosaic we call home and ensure that it is a place of welcome for all,” Deegan said.

UNF political scientist Dr. Michael Binder said he doubts the state will see a notable drop in visitors as a result of the advisories, but said the political optics could hit the state’s economy in other ways.

“Do we see larger things, maybe touring artists choose not to come here in the future? Are there big, large conferences that opt to go to different places?” Binder said.

Rumlin argued Disney’s recent announcement it would be scrapping a large project in Central Florida shows the Governor’s policies are already impacting the economy.

“I mean look at what Disney has done. $1 billion project, over 2,000 jobs,” Rumlin said.

Binder said the full impacts of the travel advisories may not be felt immediately, as large-scale events are generally planned at least a year in advance and can be difficult to change on the fly, but he argued the long-term threats to the state and local economies are real.

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“Jacksonville, while you know we might not be known as this enormous tourist destination, we do do a lot of hotels and bed tax dollars that come into this city,” Binder said. “And those are things that down the road you could start to see some impacts from.”