When it convenes on Jan. 10, the board of Florida's
embattled destination-marketing organization, Visit Florida, plans to develop a
transition plan for the expected departure of CEO Will Seccombe.
Meanwhile, Florida House speaker Richard Corcoran has
threatened to not fund the quasi-public agency in next year's budget as fallout
continues over the secrecy with which Visit Florida handled a $1 million
promotional contract with the rapper Pitbull. Visit Florida is receiving $78
million from the state in the fiscal year that ends June 30.
The conflict, which resulted in Florida Gov. Rick Scott
calling for Seccombe's resignation in a Dec. 16 letter, was sown in July 2015
when Visit Florida entered into a yearlong promotional contract with Pitbull.
Under the deal, the rapper agreed to feature Visit Florida's
Twitter hashtag on video screens at his concerts as well as on his 2015 New
Year's Eve special from Miami that was broadcast on Fox. He also committed to
filming the video for his single "Sexy Beaches" exclusively on
Florida sands.
When Visit Florida, citing proprietary information, refused
last March to reveal the financial details of that contract, as well as
contracts with the English soccer club Fulham United and the racing team of
driver/actor Patrick Dempsey, Scott ordered that the agency be audited.
Auditors ultimately cited no wrongdoing, though they did
recommend that Visit Florida staffers adhere to state standards on travel per
diems.
The controversy, however, was reignited in July with the
release of the "Sexy Beaches" video, which featured bikini-clad
models and provocative lyrics.
"The lyrics are over-the-top, degrading and horrible,"
Corcoran, a Republican from the Tampa suburb of Land O' Lakes, wrote in his
Dec. 20 blog. "They certainly don't represent the family-friendly state of
Florida."
By then, Corcoran had already filed a Dec. 13 suit on behalf
of the Florida House against Pitbull's PDR Productions in an effort to get
permission to release the terms of the contract. On Dec. 15, Pitbull
capitulated, linking the $1 million contract to a Twitter post that said, "Full
Disclosure."
One day later, Scott called for Seccombe's resignation in a
letter in which he demanded that the agency publish its salaries, contracts and
audits, among other documents.
The letter led to the almost-immediate termination of Visit
Florida marketing director Paul Phipps and CFO Vangie Fields. Seccombe has yet
to formally resign, though agency spokesman Tim DeClaire said in an email that
Seccombe agrees with Scott's recommendation.
"The next steps will be decided at the board meeting in
January," DeClaire wrote.
Corcoran, though, isn't finished with his push against Visit
Florida.
In a Dec. 20 radio interview, the speaker questioned why
taxpayers should pay for the advertising of "Fortune 500 companies."
The statistics, Corcoran said, "are very, very clear
that tourism is driven by our economy. It's not driven by how much money we
spend."
He can expect heavy pushback in any effort to leave Visit
Florida in the lurch when the Florida Legislature convenes for its March and
April session.
Scott, for one, has been a big supporter, signing off on
budgets that between 2011 and 2016 increased the state's share of funding for
the destination-marketing organization from $35 million to $78 million. Florida
saw its estimated numbers of visitors increase from 87.3 million in 2011 to 105
million in 2015.
"It is imperative that Visit Florida continue its
mission of promoting the state to keep this momentum going," Scott wrote
in his Dec. 16 letter.
Peter Ricci, director of the hospitality and tourism
management program at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, said that
Visit Florida mishandled the Pitbull deal.
"It targets a very small population of fans and
followers to one specific entertainer so it's questionable as to its value,"
he said. "And then to hide the contract throws a black cloud over the
whole thing."
He said he would not be surprised if the legislature reduces
funding for the agency in the coming years. But he doesn't expect a drastic
move.
"I think there are enough level-headed people to
realize what has been done in the last five to seven years in terms of
increased visitation," Ricci said.
Meanwhile, Harold Wheeler and Nerissa Okiye, the respective
directors of the tourism agencies in the Florida Keys and in the central east
coast's Martin County, said last week that Visit Florida offers invaluable
services to their destinations, including enabling them to participate in co-op
marketing efforts that they would not be able to afford on their own.
Okiye singled out Visit Florida's co-op advertisements in
the magazine Coastal Living as an example.
"It's an audience that we want to get in front of, but
normally the retail rack rate is unobtainable to us," she said.