Gov. Rick Scott wants more money spent on marketing the state of Florida, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
"My goal is to spend $100 million to market our state," Scott told reporters Tuesday. "When we invest in Visit Florida it helps us grow our economy."
Visit Florida is the state's tourism marketing agency. Scott wants $100 million for the organization, saying every dollar spent brings back $3.20 in tourism-related revenue. But the House and Senate last week passed spending plans that lower the budget significantly — the House passed a budget with just $25 million while the Senate proposed $76 million.
The House and Senate are now trying to negotiate a resolution to the split.
Florida had roughly 113 million tourists last year but Scott said, "if we want even more tourists, we're going to have to spend more money. We have plenty of money in the budget . . . but the House has really limited our ability to market the state."
Visit Florida has been scrutinized recently for some of its marketing plans, including one in 2015 that caused the agency chief to resign.
The organization paid Miami rapper Pitbull $1 million to promote Florida in social media posts, at his concerts and in his music video called "Sexy Beaches." Pitbull tweeted out the contract, which had been withheld from media members.
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