ORLANDO, Fla. – Tourist Development Tax (TDT) collections climbed to a record-setting $40,550,000 in March, marking another increase in revenue compared to the previous month according to the Orange County Comptroller.
It is the highest collection ever, and $1.6 million higher compared to March 2023.
“It was a great month,” said Comptroller Phil Diamond.
It’s good news for the county and for businesses across Central Florida. Diamond says TDT revenue is an indicator of how well the tourist industry is doing. In Orlando, it’s estimated 40% of all jobs are related to tourism.
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The tourism development tax is a 6% tax on all hotel rooms, vacation rentals and other lodgings in the county. The money has to be used for strict purposes, by state law. In Orange County it’s used for the Orange County Convention Center, the Kia Center, Camping World Stadium, Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center, and advertising through Visit Orlando. Some arts programs and the Orange County History Center also get money.
While the March 2024 collection was higher than February 2024 by $6.5 million, on a fiscal year-to-date basis collections are down by $28,900.
Diamond says over the last 8 to 10 months there have been more decreases than increases, so he urges caution when it comes to monthly comparisons.
“I think it’s a little too soon to say that we’ve stopped having decreases for a while. I think, you know, we are going to see what happens in April and May and see where the year goes,” said Diamond.
Diamond credits the timing of spring break and Easter for the success in March, but says it is important to keep note of those seasonal variations moving forward.
“We in the county are budgeting for a small decrease this year,” said Diamond. “Hopefully it’s an increase, but we did see a small decrease for the year up until this month and now it’s really just about flat compared to last year.”
The collections so far for the fiscal year 2023-24 total $194,209,700. March 2023 also brought in the highest revenue that year with a collection of $38,988,300.
The total for all of fiscal year 2022-23 was $359,324,500.
The collection numbers for April 2024 should come out in June.
TDT Collection March 2024 by Christie Zizo on Scribd
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