At least 10 groups, including academics and workers from different unions, canceled events and conferences planned to be held in Florida, due to the restrictive policies and “anti-humanitarian” legislation approved during the term of the Republican governor Ron DeSantis.
This was stated by Visit Lauderdale, the main tourism promoter in Broward County, indicating that the organizers of 10 conventions, conferences and events scheduled to be held in the remainder of the year, have communicated their decision to move to other sites, specifically citing the particular political climate that exists in Florida.
Some of those groups, like the AParent Miracles Foundation, which held its annual event at The Diplomat last year, cited the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) travel advisory, published in May in protest of new state restrictions on African American history lessons and on diversity training.
Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale, explained that groups planning to travel to Florida fear that their fundamental values will not be well received in a state where groups of people are stigmatized politically.
“Many are concerned that people won't come here, that conferences won't be successful if they are held in Florida,” Ritter told Local 10.
As examples, the businesswoman cited an education group that expressed fear of losing attendance at its event due to Florida's new educational guidelines.
It could be the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), which abandons an annual conference scheduled at the Hyatt Regency Miami later this year and will instead hold it in Chicago, according to cltampa.com.
In a letter sent to ACSP educators, researchers and students posted on the organization's website, its president, Laxmi Ramasubramanian, said the group had made "the difficult decision" to keep its convention aligned with the declaration. of your entity's values.
“Despite countless assurances from the Florida hospitality industry, members of all ACSP stakeholders expressed significant concerns regarding travel to Florida,” Ramasubramanian wrote, noting the “growing waves of actions and legislation hostilities emerging from Florida.”
ACSP is a consortium of more than 100 university departments and programs offering degrees in planning. A spokesperson for the entity anticipated that around 1,200 attendees at the conference scheduled to be held in Florida will now make the trip to the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago in October.
For its part, a farm workers association canceled two events after DeSantis signed a law that toughens immigration law enforcement.
Organizations representing the African American, Hispanic and LGBTQ+ communities in Florida have issued travel advisories in recent months, citing “open hostility” toward those groups manifested in laws passed during the current legislative period.
For his part, the Orlando Sentinel reported a series of conferences scheduled for later this year or in future years in Orange County that have been moved or canceled due to the political climate in Florida, including a convention for 'Game of Thrones' fans. Organizers cited "increasingly anti-humanitarian legislation in the state."
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