ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County leaders received an update Thursday from Visit Orlando, the official tourism marketing organization for the region, highlighting record-setting visitor numbers, along with a notable challenge from north of the border.
Visit Orlando reports the city welcomed 76.7 million visitors in 2025, setting a new record and marking a nearly 2% increase over 2024. The milestone puts Orlando ahead of other major tourism destinations.
Cassandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando, put the numbers in perspective.
“In ’25, New York welcomed 65 million visitors, which was up nearly a point, and Las Vegas welcomed 38.5 million visitors, and they were actually down 7.4%,” Matej said.
Despite the record overall numbers, Orlando saw a significant drop in international visitors, particularly from Canada.
“We did see challenges internationally,” Matej said.
Visit Orlando reported a 13.3% drop in Canadian visitors in 2025, a decline tied to tensions over trade and tariffs between the U.S. and Canada. However, the agency expects that trend to reverse.
“I’m pleased to say we are seeing strong momentum in 2026 and there is the anticipation of full recovery in 2027,” Matej said.
While Canadian tourism dipped, Orlando saw increases in visitors from the U.S., the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. The organization also forecasts strong visitor growth from Brazil, Germany, Ireland and the U.K. in the coming year.
Beyond visitor counts, Orlando is poised to see meaningful growth in tourist tax revenue. The Tourist Development Tax, or TDT, is projected to grow substantially.
“The forecast in ’26 has been upgraded rather significantly as you can see, suggesting that overall TDT collections should average about a 6 percent growth year over year,” Matej said.
You can see Visit Orlando’s full presentation below.