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Miami suffers from flooding on a regular schedule, which the vast majority of experts tie to global climate change, even if Florida’s governor denies the links. Gui Carvalho / Flickr

Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants state officials to review spending by Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency.

The move comes after the Orlando Sentinel reported that taxpayers have paid thousands of dollars for Chinese and other foreign journalists to vacation in the Keys. The state also paid unknown amounts to celebrities, race car drivers and soccer teams to promote the Sunshine State.

Florida legislators this past spring agreed to set aside $78 million for Visit Florida.

Scott spokeswoman Jackie Schutz said Visit Florida has “been has been incredibly successful in getting a record number of tourists to our state.” But she said the governor wants to assure the state is getting a good return on its investments.

Source: skift.com