Pence visits Orlando to talk reopening Florida and tourism industry
Vice President Mike Pence is visiting Central Florida as the region’s biggest tourist destination begins reopening.
Pence visited Orlando on Wednesday to meet with tourism officials, talk to the governor and drop off protective equipment at a nursing home.
Theme park executives, restaurant owners and hoteliers told the vice president at a roundtable discussion that the damage caused by shutdowns from the virus was unprecedented in a $86 billion industry that survived travel declines after the 9/11 attacks and the recession a dozen years ago.
“If we don’t get people back to work quickly, it’s all over,” central Florida hotelier Harris Rosen said. “Orlando is suffering. Orlando is struggling. The hospitality industry is in deep depression.”
Pence responded, “We will get this opened up.”
Pence’s visit coincided with the limited opening of Disney Springs, an entertainment complex at Walt Disney World. Some third-party shops opened Wednesday at Disney Springs with new requirements and restrictions. All workers and visitors must wear masks, temperatures will be checked at entrances and a limited number of people will be allowed in.
Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld have been closed since mid-March.
A spokesperson for the Orange County Convention Center says 50 conventions are canceled or rescheduled, causing an estimated economic impact of more than a billion dollars.
Pence is expected to offer encouragement to the tourism industry leaders on Wednesday, but without more relief funds, experts warn many businesses will not recover.
On Tuesday, about 3,700 passengers departed from the airport. On the same date last year, 70,600 hundred departed, according to numbers from the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.
The Associated Press contributed to this report