Bryan Griffin, who has served as a spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, is set to take over as leader of Florida’s tourism-marketing efforts.
The Visit Florida Board of Directors on Friday approved appointing Griffin to succeed former President and CEO Dana Young, who stepped down in February. The approval came after DeSantis earlier Friday endorsed Griffin, the governor’s communications director, for the tourism post.
“Florida is everything to me,” Griffin said. “I was born and raised in Tampa, got my education at the University of Florida. I’ve started businesses here. Met my wife here. And I’ve spent the past several years articulating the policies and priorities of Florida from the governor’s office.”
What is Visit Florida?
Visit Florida is a public-private agency that is receiving $80 million in state money this fiscal year to promote tourism in the state.
Griffin must still negotiate a start date and salary with Visit Florida Chairman Eric Marshall, senior vice president of destination sales for Universal Parks and Resorts. The salary will not exceed $215,000; Griffin earns $183,600 a year in his current position.
Visit Florida board member Carol Dover, president and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, said she hoped the contract could be worked out before the Governor’s Conference on Tourism, which begins Aug. 27 at the Omni Orlando Resort in ChampionsGate.
“His ability to communicate both publicly and in print will be well utilized by Visit Florida,” Dover said.
Young, a former member of the Florida House and Senate, led Visit Florida through a period that included the COVID-19 pandemic largely shutting down the tourism industry during part of 2020. Also, the agency grappled in recent years with fallout from a series of hurricanes.
Visit Florida worked to draw back tourists, and overall visitor numbers grew from 131.07 million in 2019 to 142.997 million last year. Since Young’s departure, Craig Thomas, Visit Florida’s chief operating officer, has served as interim leader.
Griffin has worked in the governor’s office since March 2022, starting as a deputy press secretary. He exited briefly in 2023 to work on DeSantis’ unsuccessful presidential campaign.
In a statement before Friday’s meeting, DeSantis said Griffin has “led the charge in communicating the message of the free state of Florida for the past three years from my office.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Griffin has a law degree from the University of Florida and worked toward a master’s degree in international affairs, economics and political development at Columbia University.
