{"id":2762,"date":"2026-06-04T18:04:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2762"},"modified":"2026-06-04T18:04:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:04:45","slug":"epic-collection-of-orange-county-tourist-tax-stretches-to-13-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2762","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Epic\u2019 collection of Orange County tourist tax stretches to 13 months"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>Neither war abroad nor spiking gas prices at home have derailed a record run of tourist-tax collections in the Orlando area.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2760\">Bianchi: Vegas is skating circles around Orlando as a big-league sports town<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The 6% surcharge on the cost of short-term lodging in Orange County brought in $37.7 million in April, nearly $5 million more than in April 2025 and the most ever for the month, said Comptroller Phil Diamond, whose office tracks collection and spending of the TDT dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Collection of the tourist development tax, also known as TDT, has reached record levels in 13 consecutive months.<\/p>\n<p>April\u2019s TDT collection was up nearly 14% from when the record streak began.<\/p>\n<p>Tourism experts have worried the U.S. war with Iran, which led to economic concerns including sharply higher prices at the pump, might diminish the region\u2019s appeal for visitors, both foreign and stateside. But Orlando tourism and its attractions remain a strong draw.<\/p>\n<p>The region welcomed 76.7 million visitors in 2025, Visit Orlando leaders announced in May.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Orlando set a record with 76.7 million visitors in 2025<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"SumSKokw57\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"282\" loading=\"lazy\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" scrolling=\"no\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/2026\/05\/08\/orlando-set-a-record-with-76-7-million-visitors-in-2025\/embed\/#?secret=HaIbIUH3aT#?secret=SumSKokw57\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cOrlando set a record with 76.7 million visitors in 2025\u201d \u2014 Orlando Sentinel\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Diamond said he expects collections will remain high, though the percentage increase might taper off a bit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been pleasantly surprised over the last 13 months,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile I certainly hope it continues, it\u2019s the most unpredictable tax of all. It can change literally overnight as we\u2019ve seen before. We saw 97% of the tax [revenue] evaporate during the pandemic, right?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why we have strong reserves,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cYou never know what tomorrow will bring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The comptroller\u2019s report generally follows collections by about a month. May figures likely will be released in early July.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Five years ago, the comptroller persuaded county commissioners to use caution and hold a minimum of $300 million in reserve.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>In wake of COVID, Orange comptroller urges caution with hotel-tax money<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"eXVabOyITv\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"282\" loading=\"lazy\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" scrolling=\"no\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/2022\/06\/16\/in-wake-of-covid-orange-comptroller-urges-caution-with-hotel-tax-money\/embed\/#?secret=pol0FfRL4F#?secret=eXVabOyITv\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cIn wake of COVID, Orange comptroller urges caution with hotel-tax money\u201d \u2014 Orlando Sentinel\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>TDT is generally regarded as a reliable gauge of the tourism industry\u2019s health in Central Florida because short-term lodging costs are mostly paid by out-of-town visitors and rising collections signal high visitor volume, strong hotel demand, and a booming travel economy.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2758\">US jobless aid filings, a proxy for layoffs, hit highest level since Iran war began in February<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The average daily room rate for lodging in Orlando area in April jumped about $30 over a year ago to $254.02.<\/p>\n<p>The record run aligns closely \u2014 but not precisely \u2014 with the May 2025 opening of \u201cEpic Universe,\u201d the 750-acre theme park operated by Universal Destinations &amp; Experiences and featuring thrill rides based on some of Universal Studios\u2019 most popular film franchises.<\/p>\n<p>Universal Destinations &amp; Experiences does not publish its parks\u2019 attendance figures.<\/p>\n<p>TDT collections for fiscal year 2026, which began Oct. 1, stand at\u00a0$258.2 million through the first seven months \u2014 about 9.8% or $23 million ahead of last year\u2019s record pace. Orange County commissioners in January adjusted the tax\u2019s anticipated fiscal year revenue upward from $360 million to $385 million, a conservative estimate considering the tax generated a record $384.5 million in fiscal year 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The April performance continued this year\u2019s positive momentum with both spring break travel from the northeast U.S. and strong convention business contributing to a solid month, said Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando, the TDT-funded agency that promotes the region.<\/p>\n<p>She said hotel occupancy in Orange County reached 79%, up nearly 6% from a year ago.<\/p>\n<p>The Orange County Convention Center, built, expanded, largely operated and maintained with TDT revenues, reported a 7% bump in attendance from last year with youth sporting events, such as the Allstar World Championships, a cheerleading competition, and the ASICS Florida Volleyball Challenge. The venue also hosted the ISA International Sign Expo, the leading trade show for the sign, graphics, print and visual communications industry, and Aviation Week MRO Americas, an annual conference and showcase which brings thousands of aviation professionals to network, demonstrate new technologies and discuss industry trends.<\/p>\n<p>Matej said the outlook for summer remains positive with hotel room demand pacing ahead of last year.<\/p>\n<p>Bookings are up slightly but the average daily room rate is up more than 10%.<\/p>\n<p>Matej said anticipation is growing around this summer\u2019s FIFA World Cup \u2014 with the closest game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens about 230 miles away from Orlando \u2014 but it is too early to gauge the impact on travel here for international fans of the sport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVisit Orlando is actively leveraging the tournament by positioning our destination as the perfect companion city for World Cup travelers,\u201d she said, noting the agency has created a special web page, visitorlando.com\/soccer. \u201cOur message centers around Orlando\u2019s ease of access to major host cities via air and train, a travel experience that makes it easy to build Orlando into a broader U.S. vacation and a vibrant hub to enjoy matches you can\u2019t see in person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2756\">5 things you\u2019ll need to consider before buying an RV cover<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>shudak@orlandosentinel.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Propelled by the year-old Epic Universe theme park, collection of the Orange County hotel tax brought in $37.7 million in April, nearly $5 million more than a year ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-tourism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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