Tourist-tax collections in Orange County soared like the temperature in July, hitting the highest total ever on record for the month.

Receipts hit $29.5 million, an increase of 11.1% or nearly $3 million better than July 2024, said Comptroller Phil Diamond, whose office tracks collections and spending of revenues raised by the 6% levy on hotel rooms and other short-term lodgings in the county.

“Summer performance continued to heat up,” he said.

Tourist tax revenues, driven by the region’s hotel room occupancy and the average daily room rate, are generally viewed as an economic barometer of Central Florida tourism, the region’s dominant industry, which has been on a steady incline the past two years.

Diamond said collections continue to be “epic,” a tongue-in-cheek nod to Epic Universe, the region’s newest theme park.

Mark Woodbury, CEO of Universal Destinations & Experiences, said the park which opened in May is off to a “pretty great start.”

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Since Epic officially opened May 22, the Tourist Development Tax, or TDT for short, has shattered collection records in three straight months, bringing in more than $93 million combined during May, June and July, despite scorching temperatures in Central Florida.

TDT reports lag a few weeks behind collections. August figures will be released in early October.

The tax was first levied in 1978 to fund the Orange County Convention Center.

State law restricts use of tourist tax revenue, forbidding it to be spent on what some county leaders say are more pressing community needs, such as affordable housing, law enforcement and transportation.

The county has used the money to fund renovations and expansions of the Pentagon-sized convention center; pay tens of millions to Visit Orlando to promote tourism; and underwrite improvements to Camping World Stadium and the KIA Center.

Some local leaders have clamored for a law allowing more flexible uses.

During a discussion last month of an unflattering audit of Visit Orlando, state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who proposed unsuccessful legislation earlier this year to unbind TDT funds, said he will continue to advocate for more flexibility to address “real community needs.”

With tourist-tax receipts tallied through July, a 10-month period that began Oct. 1, collections are $19.5 million or 6.5% ahead of last year’s record-setting pace when the surcharge brought in a record $360 million. But the soaring totals aren’t a complete surprise.

A year ago, county commissioners conservatively estimated TDT would raise $345 million from Oct 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, the months of the fiscal year. But the board has twice revised the estimate upward — to $360 million in January and then $375 million last month.

But TDT’s actual haul has outpaced even the upward adjustments, which figures out to $31.25 million per month.

TDT collections have averaged $32.9 million a month with August figures not yet counted.

Metro Orlando’s hotel occupancy and room demand grew slightly stronger in July as compared to a year ago, said Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando, the TDT-funded marketing agency that promotes Central Florida attractions to the world.

Epic Universe fuels epic May for Orange tourist-tax collections

The average daily room rate was up to $180.87, up from $173.59 in July 2024.

She said the July numbers got a boost from the AAU Volleyball Championships staged at the convention center.

The annual athletic event extended into July this year.

The convention center also hosted 12,000 attendees for ICAST, the world’s largest sports fishing trade show, and 10,000 for the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America National Conference, which brought students and advisers to Orlando for the five-day event.

Matej said advance hotel bookings in September are pacing about 10% behind last year, but October through December shows “notable strength” with bookings about 5% ahead of the same period a year ago. Short-term rentals also suggest a strong end-of-year showing.

On the expenditure side of TDT’s ledger, Diamond noted the City of Orlando recently issued bonds for a TDT-funded, $400 million project at Camping World Stadium that will increase seating to 65,000 and add a 100,000-square-foot, multipurpose covered venue.

The first TDT payment to the city, about $27 million, is scheduled before Nov. 1.

shudak@orlandosentinel.com

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/09/05/july-tourist-tax-collections-heat-up-break-record/