The tourism officials in Florida are concerned over the possible threat of a domestic travel ban by President Biden ahead of the spring break season. The CDC speculates the United Kingdom variant of the coronavirus could be the dominant strain in the US by the end of March.
There are more than 1,000 cases of the variant in 39 states. Florida has almost 400 of those cases. The public health officials say the strain is more contagious. The Biden administration is considering issuing travel restrictions in Florida to slow the spread of the variant.
Tourism officials say a ban right now would devastating. Last year, Florida saw devastating drops in tourism due to coronavirus shutdowns. In the late spring and early summer, peak tourism times, the star lost over 60 percent of the tourist traffic.
The representatives with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association say a travel ban before spring break would cripple the industry at a time when it’s just beginning to recover.
Towards the end of last year, Visit Florida spent millions on campaigns to promote travel within the state. Now, they’re ready for tourists from out of state to return.
According to numbers from Visit Florida, there were around 66 million fewer tourists in 2020 than in 2019.
Tags: Florida, Florida tourism
