Orange County tourism numbers displaying indicators of life

ORLANDO, Florida – Better news is on the horizon for Orange County tourism.

The critical tourism development tax, which is helping to stimulate the local economy, is showing an upward trend.

The tax is collected from places like hotel rentals and leases that last six months or less.

That’s positive as it’s been a bumpy ride for TDT collections for over a year during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year around this time there was catastrophic slumps in tourism development tax.

The latest figures show:

Collections in March 2021 total approximately $ 17.6 million, up 27 percent from March 2020.

This is the first year-on-year increase since the pandemic began.

The collections in March 2021 are also up $ 7 million from February 2021.

Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond is optimistic.

“We think it’s looking good in the short term,” said Diamond. “And hopefully things will continue to look good in the long term and we are still hopeful.”

The March 2021 collections are still the lowest March numbers since before the pandemic and the lowest since March 2010.

TDT goes right back into our economy, like supporting the Orange County Convention Center and cultural arts programs.