Members of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s task force to Re-Open Florida met for the first time Tuesday with industry leaders.
The governor says he wants to get the state economy back up and moving as quickly as possible. But, even those with the most to lose say any plan won’t work until customers feel confident it's safe.
Day one of task force meetings met with a dose of reality. Record low numbers show a steep decline in tourism and hospitality, which are vital to Florida’s employment and tax base.
The goal, DeSantis says, is to get Florida’s top industry moving again, challenging his task force to strike the right balance.
“You know, how do you operate in a way that is going to minimize risk? That’s what we tried to do here in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.
But, representatives from industries like hotels, restaurants, retail and others say they first need science-based health standards to give customers and employees confidence they can work, travel, stay and eat here -- safely.
“Anything that we can do to certify and come together collectively with those kinds of best practices, I think, are paramount,” said John Tolbert, the CEO at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.
Philip Goldfarb, president of the Fountainbleau Hotel Miami Beach and other properties agreed. He says they’ve been working on a list of best practices of their own for staff, rooms and guests.
“We’re putting together what we call the 10 commitments, not the 10 Commandments,” Goldfarb said. “But the 10 commitments.”
Visit Florida, which led the meeting, says it’s working on a four-step publicity plan to eventually drive tourism back to the state. First, they’ll ask people who live in Florida to take a staycation.
“Our marketing will aim to invoke a sense of Florida pride, by reminding Floridians that they are blessed to live in one of the most amazing vacation destinations in the world,” Visit Florida CEO Dana Young said.
The meeting also highlighted a growing divide between Florida’s big and small businesses, which are fighting for the same pool of state relief money.
Big Corporations like Disney grab headlines when they announce they’ve furloughed 100,000 people. But, Walter Carpenter, with the NFIB Small Business Association, says with three million employees statewide, small businesses have the most to lose – with a million jobs at stake.
“Fifteen of these small businesses cannot last more than one month without some type of additional funding source,” Carpenter said. “And 35 percent of the businesses can hang on for just one to two months.”
Some on the conference call say there needs to be a balance. They say they’re worried that protocols and ad campaigns could take too long to come up with.
“The cure cannot be worse than the disease itself,” said Cody Khan, Owner of Holiday Inn Resort. “So, we need to find a way to put our workers back to work.”
Similar meetings are scheduled over the next few days to include other industries and stakeholders.
The input gets passed along to the task force executive committee with the goal of putting suggestions on DeSantis‘s desk by the end of the week.
- Hillsborough County Schools reschedule graduation: Here's a full list of dates and times
- Florida is getting ready to re-open. Here's who's on the task force
- Officer wants people to take COVID-19 seriously after his battle with the virus
- Reports: Kim Jong Un in fragile condition after surgery
- Disney furloughs 100,000 workers, saving $500 million a month amid theme park shutdown
- Hotlines, websites offer the latest on COVID-19
FREE 10NEWS APP:
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Brightside Blend Newsletter
