ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Members of the LGBTQ+ community are demanding answers. Florida’s tourism authority, VISIT FLORIDA, has quietly removed the “LGBTQ+ Travel” tab from its website.

Now people ask: Why?

Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida, calls this another attack on the LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s amazing how petty Governor Ron Desantis is. But I think the fact that they did it secretly and without much fanfare is a reflection of the fact that he understands that Floridians are really fed up with his antics,” Smith said.

VISIT FLORIDA is the state’s official tourism marketing corporation. The Florida State Legislature established this nonprofit public-private partnership in 1996.

Rachel Covello runs a similar travel website, OutCoast, which focuses on LGBTQ+-friendly travel throughout the Sunshine State.

She has worked with VISIT FLORIDA in the past.

“In 2021, we actually created content that linked to our site from their LGBT travel site,” she said.

She first noticed the missing content about a month ago.

“I tried to show a friend, a colleague, the landing page on the Visit Florida website during a trade show four weeks ago and it was no longer there. That’s when I wondered what was going on. I reached out to Visit Florida, the contact I worked with in 2021, and have not received a response,” she added.

ABC Action News is also waiting for a response from Visit Florida as to why they removed the link. We have also reached out to VISIT TAMPA, VISIT ST. PETE/CLEARWATER and the Governor’s office and are awaiting a response from them as well.

“It’s still really important that this content is available on a statewide platform. And as a local LGBT population, knowing how diverse parts of the state can be, that hurts. It hurts to be erased in this way,” Covello said.

We used the Wayback Machine, an archive website, to access the page, which once said: “Florida’s beaches, warm weather and myriad activities provide a sense of freedom – they attract people of all orientations, but are especially attractive to the gay community seeking a sense of belonging and acceptance.”

Last year, 114 million people visited Florida. According to VISIT FLORIDA, tourists spent $102 billion.

“There is a lot of money to be made from diverse tourism, not only in the LGBT sector, but also when you look at the entire minority population, it brings in money for the state,” Covello said.

St. Pete Pride alone raised $60.7 million in 2023.

The LGBTQ community is now calling for more support for business owners who may well be affected by this change.

“I think this is the moment where certainly the hospitality industry needs to speak up, but really everyone in the state of Florida needs to say: enough is enough. Florida is open to everyone. It’s a welcoming place,” Smith said.