Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) released the following statement in response to reports that the White House is considering travel restrictions, including the restriction of travel to Florida, amid the spread of the latest COVID strain.
“The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association represents 10,000 members across the state who are trying to rebuild following a devastating 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we believe public safety is paramount, our members have done everything in their power to go above and beyond sanitation and safety procedures to keep guests and employees safe during this unprecedented time. We echo concerns raised by Governor DeSantis and Senator Rubio about the harmful consequences of potential travel bans. Instituting travel restrictions to Florida is not only bad policy but would erase the small steps towards recovery that Florida hotels and restaurants have made. Our state relies on visitors to keep people employed, fund state and local government, and remain state income tax free. We are still significantly down because of conference and business travel being down. To restrict individuals and their families from coming to Florida would absolutely kill the economic progress we have made in recent months. As more vaccines are distributed, we are confident that even more people will want to travel to Florida, and we are more than ready and eager to welcome them.”