Tourists take photos at the Magic Kingdom amusement park at Walt Disney World in Buena Vista, Florida. Ted Shaffrey (AP)
Disney shows its strength. The entertainment giant boasted this Tuesday about the profound economic impact it is having in Florida, its most important bastion and a state where it has been at odds with its governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, since April. In the midst of this litigation, the company wanted to raise its profile and ensure that it was responsible for 260,000 direct and indirect jobs and that its operations generated a profit of 40,000 million dollars last year. “Disney is critical to funding public services and generates $6.6 billion in taxes, including $3.1 billion in local and state taxes,” said Adam Sacks of Oxford Economics, who conducted a study .
Disney asserts that if it were not for Florida, a state of 22 million people, the unemployment rate would rise from 3% to 5.4%, making Disney the second highest unemployment rate in the United States. Today it is ranked 21st. The company employs 82,000 people. 12% of workers, one in eight in the state, work for the Mickey Mouse company in the central region of the state. The staff goes beyond those at Walt Disney World amusement park. These include those of the cruise lines in Cape Canaveral and others in the resorts of Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
The Oxford Economics study was commissioned by Disney. It was presented this Tuesday at the annual meeting of the global amusement park industry, which is being held this week in the city of Orlando. Fifty-eight years ago and around this time, Walt and his brother Roy announced “The Florida Project” at a press conference. That’s what they initially called their second park in the United States, Walt Disney World. It opened its doors in October 1971. Today the site covers more than 100 square kilometers, almost twice the size of the island of Manhattan. Its four amusement parks are visited by 58 million people every year. This makes it the most visited attraction complex in the world. According to economists, tourists caused $ 12,000 million in damage to the company.
“The numbers speak for themselves why Disney is so important to our region’s jobs, economy and tourism,” said Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World. “The future investments we will make will provide greater opportunities for the people of Florida,” he added. The company has promised to provide around $17 billion in the coming years, which could create an additional 13,000 jobs.
The company assures that its impact is so relevant that it helps around 2,500 small businesses in the region succeed. Around 160 third-party companies are based in the amusement park. This means that Disney will sooner or later provide housing to one in every 32 jobs in Florida. In a recent call with its shareholders, Disney admitted that attendance at Walt Disney World had declined after the company canceled the Galactic Starcruiser, a two-day Star Wars-inspired hotel stay priced between $4,800 and $6,000.
The numbers released this morning in Orlando are intended to put a sweet face on the tough conflict Disney has with Ron DeSantis. The local governor, seeking to become the Republican presidential candidate, chose to fight the giant to show that his crusade against woke (progressive) ideology was serious. DeSantis focused the attack as the company opposed one of its flagship laws, which bans the teaching of sex education and gender issues in the early years of the public system. The controversial law has been dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its critics.
The conflict escalated when the politician tried to name the five officials who head the board of supervisors of the district where Walt Disney World is located. The affront broke the tacit agreement between the political power of capital Tallahassee and the economic power of Orlando. It was the first time since 1955 that Disney did not appoint board members. Disney responded in court, suing DeSantis for his “retaliation” and creating an “anti-business” environment at the company.
The tensions between the parties led Disney to temporarily cancel the construction of a company building that would house all the engineers involved in creating attractions for its parks. These are located in Los Angeles and the company had planned to move about 2,000 east to strengthen its presence in Florida. The investment was around $1 billion but was shelved. DeSantis assured in August that he had already put his problems with Disney behind him. However, the dispute in court continues.
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