ORLANDO, Fla. — Tourism in the Orlando area is on the up and up according to a local group.
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The Orange County Tourist Development Council held its fifth meeting of the year on Friday.
Officials said numbers for some businesses are back above pre-pandemic levels and are expected to grow.
With 159 events scheduled this year and more than 1.5 million attendees expected, the projected economic impact is around $2.8 billion.
“I believe the future is bright for Orange County and Central Florida because we have amenities here that you won’t find anywhere else,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.
Watch: Dr. Phillips Center hopes to receive $145 million from Orange County tourist development tax
However, some organizations like the NAACP have either canceled or moved their events out-of-state, blaming controversial laws recently signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“There’s no question the politics of Florida includes a narrative for people thinking about visiting. Today we’ve been pretty successful turning things around on a local level,” Demings said.
Read: ‘Learn and be successful’: Over 100 local tourism workers completed ESOL classes.
The Orlando area is still the most visited location in the country ahead of Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
And tourist tax revenues will surely grow with the anticipated return of the NFL highly popular Pro Bowl in 2024.
See more in the video above.
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