Visit Florida

Visit Florida saw its return on investment fall to 58 cents for every $1 spent on marketing as COVID-19 slammed the doors on the state’s tourism industry, according to a new analysis by state economists.But with tourists back at beaches, theme parks and other attractions, the analysis projects that Visit Florida’s economic return will rebound to pre-pandemic levels.

Local tourism officials warn the proposed changes would harm efforts that last year helped lead to tourism numbers topping pre-pandemic levels. Rep. Mike Giallombardo, a Cape Coral Republican, is a sponsor of the proposal.

State health officials reported 5,807 new COVID-19 cases, Wednesday, for a total of 762,533 cases. The Florida Department of Health also reported 105 new coronavirus-related deaths, Oct. 21, increasing the statewide death toll to 16,413 fatalities.

State health officials reported 1,838 new COVID-19 cases, Monday, bringing Florida's total to 648,269 cases.Sept. 7 marked the lowest single-day increase in reported new infections in Florida since June 15, but whether the Labor Day holiday weekend will result in a surge in new infections, as the state experienced about a week after the July 4th holiday, remains to be seen.The Florida Department of Health also reported 22 new coronavirus-related deaths, Monday, bringing the statewide death toll to 12,023 fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic.

State health officials reported 2,402 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, increasing the statewide total to 633,442 cases. The Florida Department of Health reported 127 new coronavirus-related deaths, Sept. 2, bringing the statewide death toll to 11,651 fatalities.Of the 4,681,135 COVID-19 tests that have been reported in Florida so far, the overall positivity rate continues trending downward to its current rate of 13.40%.

State Health officials reported 5,409 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, bringing Florida's caseload over the 500,000-case threshold with 502,739 documented positive cases of the virus.Florida is the second state in the U.S. to report more than 500,000 cases, behind only California.Testing in Florida has been ramping back up after a temporary shutdown of some state-run testing sites because of Tropical Storm Isaias.The Florida Department of Health reported 225 new coronavirus-related deaths, Aug. 5, increasing the statewide death toll to 7,627 fatalities.

For the second consecutive day, the number of new cases of the coronavirus reported by state health officials topped 2,000 new confirmed cases.The Florida Department of Health reported 2,610 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, following Tuesday's single-day record high of 2,783 cases.The statewide total number of cases now stands at 82,719. State health officials also reported 25 new coronavirus-related deaths, June 17, increasing the statewide death toll to 3,018 fatalities.

House Speaker Jose Oliva continues to lead the charge against funding for Visit Florida, saying in a newspaper column this week that tourists would...

Faced with a “prove-it” year to state lawmakers, the board of Florida’s tourism-marketing arm on Wednesday approved a 30 percent payroll cut. A...

For years the Florida legislature has funded Visit Florida – a group charged with advertising and marketing tourism for the state. It works overseas,...