Orange County sees 97% decrease in tourist development tax in April

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County’s tourist development tax saw a 97% decrease in income in April 2020 compared to the year before, officials said Wednesday.

Officials said the tax collected is only $765,900, which is comparable to the amount in 1980, a year after the tax was approved.

And, officials said, back in 1980 the only theme parks that were open in Central Florida were SeaWorld and The Magic Kingdom.

READ: Phase 2 in Florida begins Friday: Here’s what can reopen

The tourist development tax is a 6% tax on the total cost of hotel or vacation rentals in the county that are leased for less than six months.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the decrease in income could mean some projects, including possibly the expansion of the Orange County Convention Center, could be delayed.

”We may have to delay portions of that," Demings said. “Unlike the federal government we cannot run deficits.”

During the news conference Demings also addressed the idea of relocating the Republican National Convention to Orange County.

He said he would not ask county commissioners to consider the idea unless the county were to be reimbursed completely for the costs.

Theme parks have announced their reopening plans, with SeaWorld opening later this month, and Walt Disney World parks opening in July.

Universal Studios began its passholder preview Wednesday, which will continue until Thursday. It opens to the public Friday. Universal is requiring everyone wear face masks and practice social distancing. The park is also putting a cap on attendance.

Simon Veness with Veness Travel Media said, “The passholder demand will drive at least the first week or so in both resorts.”

“There’s certainly enough local interest,” he said. “How that sustains in terms of going forward after the first few days, maybe the first week, is gonna be the $60,000 question."

Read: Universal Orlando reopening: A look at passholders’ first day back at the parks

But for long term, Veness said there are a lot of question marks about how long others will sit on the sidelines.

“As much as there’s definitely a lot of pent-up demand to get back to the parks, there’s also this sort of slightly cautious factor,” he said. “People are nervous, I think, a little bit.”

Veness said, “We need to see a lot of out-of-state-people coming for this to be a sustained demand. I don’t think the local market is big enough and is ready enough yet, to be able to keep Disney and Universal and SeaWorld busy on a regular, daily basis.”

Watch the county’s news conference below:

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