Visit Florida to receive full funding of $76M

Visit Florida will receive full 2017-18 funding to the tune of $76 million, after the organization was set to have their funding cut to as little as $25 million earlier this spring.

The funding announcement was made last week following a few months of uncertainty, capped by a three-day special session which wrapped on Friday (June 9). The agreement comes with a number of conditions, however, including a one-to-one match of all private and public contributions Visit Florida receives, as well as a review of all contracts valued at or above $750,000; the funding cut was initially proposed by the state following a $1 million contract with rapper Pitbull, which drew criticism that the organization lacked transparency.

Visit Florida President & CEO Ken Lawson described the announcement as a “huge win” for Florida.

“Today’s victory will allow us to continue working with our industry partners to market Florida as a global destination and help us reach our goal of 120 million visitors,” Lawson said in a press statement.