Travel officials suspect blacklist

Tourism officials believe some leisure destinations have been blacklisted and labeled inappropriate for government meetings or other gatherings according to several news reports. Potential image problems, the recession and ongoing financial crisis are trumping travel deals in supposed blacklisted destinations such as Orlando, Las Vegas, Miami and Aspen.

“We’ve heard from individuals within government agencies that this unwritten list exists,” Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of the U.S. Travel Association, told eTurboNews. “Based on what we’ve heard, I would expect it to be quite significant.”

The possible existence of a do-not-book list is a destination-wide issue. According to the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, business travel to Orlando is expected to fall 11.2 percent this year. Overnight conventions and group meetings are expected to declcine 16.2 percent.

“At the end of the day, governments should be basing the decision on what’s in the best interest of taxpayers,” Freeman says. “Any type of blacklisting would be entirely inappropriate and counterproductive to turning our economy around.”

Tourism officials admit that proving the existence of such a do-not-book list could be difficult.