House Bill threatens Florida Tourism

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Tourism is the lifeblood of Florida’s economy, particularly in coastal communities like Pensacola. For decades, the Tourism Development Tax (TDT) has funded both promotion and infrastructure development. Now, House Bills 1221 and 7033 threaten to redirect these funds toward property tax relief.

“Kind of in the middle of the night, there was this amendment that was attached on that said, and we want to change the use of TDT so that none of it is used for tourism promotion and development anymore,” explained Darien Schaefer, CEO and President of Visit Pensacola.

Math Doesn’t Add Up

While property tax relief sounds appealing, the numbers tell a different story.

“If we didn’t have our visitors, every household would have to pay $513 more a year just to maintain those services,” Schaefer noted. “The idea that we could take the $22 million in TDT and spread it on property tax… that’s $156 in property tax relief. But otherwise, we’re currently saving them over $500. That math doesn’t work out.”

Tourism development funds have built significant infrastructure in our region:

“It helped build the Pensacola Bay Center, and now it’ll be used to help renovate and expand it. We just spent $9 million of TDT to renourish the beach on Pensacola Beach, Gateway Signage, helping with the UWF football stadium. We just spent close to $40 million of TDT, which now is all up in the air,” Schaefer warned.

Competitive Disadvantage: Without dedicated promotion funds, Pensacola would struggle against nearby destinations.

“When we look at some of our peer destinations to the east of us and to the west of us, over in Alabama, they have larger budgets, so they can have a louder voice. We have to work very smartly,” said Schaefer.

Visit Pensacola provides consistent messaging that would be lost if individual hotels marketed independently. The organization also helps secure events like the Sunbelt Tournament and SEC Women’s Soccer that generate both immediate economic impact and return visitors.

We’ve already seen how tourism downturns affect local businesses.

“If your favorite restaurant loses 25% of its business, we learned from COVID, that’s tough to come back from,” Schaefer explained. “And that’s exactly what would happen if we start losing visitors.”

Tourism Benefits All Floridians

The tourism industry agreed to tax itself through lodging fees for promotion and development. Thanks to this arrangement, Florida residents enjoy something many Americans don’t—no state income tax.

“I can’t imagine how it’s in anyone’s interest, any resident’s interest, to see the tourism industry get derailed,” Schaefer said. “Tourism is so immersed in the fabric of the state of Florida that people should be really careful about taking it apart.”

What Can You Do?

Contact your state representatives and express opposition to House Bills 1221 and 7033. Explain that undermining tourism funding for minimal property tax relief threatens local businesses, jobs, and our quality of life.

Rep. Alex Andrade’s email.

Rep. Michelle Salzman’s email.

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Florida Tourism Under Threat: House bill could damage our local economy

Math Doesn’t Add Up

What Can You Do?

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