Less tourists travel to North Carolina and Mississippi since the passage of anti-LGBT legislation
Mississippi and North Carolina have seen a drop in people wanting to visit their states since anti-LGBT legislation was passed.
Last month, the UK Foreign Office issued a warning to LGBT travellers visiting America that said “LGBT travellers may be affected by legislation” passed in the states.
In Mississippi, the tourist board admitted that people were cancelling or postponing trips to the state because of the anti-LGBT law.
In a statement to PR Week UK, the Mississippi Tourist Association said: “Our industry is made up of large and small businesses that employ over 115,000 Mississippians, each who cherish the individual freedoms that have made America great. But, with this freedom comes responsibility, and we believe that we must take the responsibility to reiterate the Mississippi Tourism Industry’s message of welcome that is the hallmark of our great state.
“As the industry on the front line, cheerfully welcoming visitors to our home, we are redoubling our efforts to demonstrate that Mississippi is, indeed, the Hospitality State.”
North Carolina, which introduced HB2 and is to be sued by the Federal Government over it, also accepted that less people wanted to visit the state because of the law.
North Carolina’s tourism authority, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, said that businesses have expressed reservations. These include PayPal and Deutsche Bank, which have stopped plans to create jobs in North Carolina.
“The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina recognises there are varied opinions on House Bill 2. As a private non-profit organisation that operates under contract with state government, we typically do not comment on matters of public policy,” it said in a statement.
“We are confident our state’s lawmakers and governor will work together to consider ways to best address the concerns of all parties affected by this legislation, and we encourage a timely resolution of this matter.”
