Orange County tourism-tax collections down for fourth-consecutive month

Orange County tourism-tax collections continue to disappoint.

Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond announced Thursday, Sept. 7, that Tourist Development Tax collections received by Orange County for July 2023 were $27,171,100. 

That is a 5.2% decrease compared to July 2022.

This is the fourth-consecutive month with a year-over-year decrease. 

Compared to last month, July collections were lower than June collections by $2.9 million. July collections were higher than July 2021 collections by $2.5 million.

Metro Orlando hotel performance in July 2023 was softer than the same month in the prior year. Occupancy at area hotels was 73.8% — down 4% year-over-year. The Average Daily Rate was $177.60, down from $185 in June and down slightly from the prior year’s July performance (-1%). 

For group business at the Orange County Convention Center, July saw an increase in the number of groups year-over-year, with 19 events in July 2023 compared to 13 in July 2022. However group sizes were smaller than those in 2022. 

On the TDT reserve side, Renewal & Replacement Reserves increased by $6.9 million.