TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Thank goodness it’s the slow season in Florida.
At least that’s what officials and representatives of the state’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry are thinking in the wake of the news that 15 people have been infected with Zika in a small, trendy neighborhood in Miami.
The outbreak has sent another chill through the Sunshine State’s all-important tourism industry just weeks after the Orlando nightclub massacre and the killing of a 2-year-old boy by an alligator at nearby Walt Disney World.
Florida officials have gone into damage-control mode, with Gov. Rick Scott insisting it’s safe to visit the state.
Tourism is Florida’s biggest industry. Visitors spent some $89 billion last year.