Florida Is the World's Top Tourism Spot if You Don't Count Good Places
In his long-shot quest for reelection, tea party Republican Gov. Rick Scott is ingratiating himself to Floridians the old-fashioned way: failing geography.
The governor made a bold statement last month about his state's standing:
As we move toward our third consecutive year of record tourism growth, it is clear why the Sunshine State remains the top travel destination across the world.
But Politifact Florida found that statement to be mostly false, because the world is a big place, and France is in it, and France has a lot more visitors. Probably because it doesn't have Florida's problems with mosquitos, or guns, or shirtless dads who goad teens into fighting, then join the fight themselves.
Also, the world has Spain, and California, which both rake in more tourism dollars than Florida. But facts are for dumb Frenchmen, and also Spaniards and Californians, says Scott's spokesman. "The governor truly believes Florida is the 'top travel destination' in the world," he told Politifact. "It's his personal view."
Meanwhile, Scott's tourism czars take a more fact-based view. "We continue to say our goal is to beat France," a Visit Florida spokeswoman told Politifact. Florida: We're kinda like Germany that way.
