ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County is getting an outlook on the potential of the 2026 economy after a record year in tourism tax revenue.
During a meeting on Friday, Sean Snaith, who is the director of the Institute for Economic Forecasting, will give an economic update to the Tourist Development Council.
During the presentation, Snaith will talk about the $384.6 million in tourist development tax that was collected for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The amount marked the highest annual collections for Orange County, largely due to the opening of Universal Epic Universe.
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“It’s the first major theme park opening, I think, in about 25 years,” Snaith said. “That had a lot of people coming to the region.”
Snaith expects another big year for tourism, although he believes it will fall short of another record because of a recent decline in domestic air travel.
“Some households are going to continue to struggle with this credit card debt that they ran up during the time of high inflation,” Snaith said.
Orange County has also faced questions about how to spend tourist tax money.
County leaders would like to funnel the revenue towards transportation projects, but Florida law states it must be spent on tourism-related functions.
A legislative effort to change the law failed in June when it was removed from HB 7031.
“I think that pressure will continue, but legally what can be done with it will ultimately dictate how that funding gets allocated,” Snaith said.
The Tourist Development Council will meet Friday at the Orange County Administration Building.