ORLANDO, Fla. — Visit Orlando and the Orange County Comptroller’s Office presented the state of the tourism market to county leaders during a Tourism Development Council meeting Friday.
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The conversation focused on tourism highlights for 2023 and projections for 2024.
According to Visit Orlando, hotel performance in 2023 trailed 2022 by about 1 percent.
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But hotel demand is expected to increase by about 4 percent in 2024 and continue to increase through 2025.
Visit Orlando’s President & CEO Casandra Matej also said she expects a return of international travel to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
International visitors are often among the most desirable groups of tourists because they tend to have longer hotel stays and more spending power.
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However, international travel was the slowest to return after covid.
Visit Orlando anticipates that to change this year, building on a 15 percent increase in passengers coming through Orlando International Airport in 2023.
“We expect real strength in the travel growing from Canada, Mexico, and Colombia,” said Matej.
Mayor Jerry Demings told Channel 9 he was optimistic about the region’s tourism outlook.
“It’s an $87.6 billion industry. There are a lot of people who depend on that industry for jobs and their businesses,” said Demings, “we likely will continue to see our tourism industry continue to thrive.”
Demings pointed to positive air passenger travel indicators, the prospect of Epic Universe opening in 2025, positive sporting activity and the reinvestments of Disney and other theme parks as promising signs of a healthy tourism industry.
“All of that bodes very well for a strong and local economy for the foreseeable future,” said Demings.
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