Florida law dictates how tourist tax dollars can be used, and lawmakers have been reticent to make changes. Right now tourist tax dollars can only be used for tourism promotion or on facilities and programs that benefit tourism.

How should the tax revenue generated from tourists be spent in Orange County? That is a question that has been at the center of a debate for years.

Today, Visit Orlando defended its handling of funds before the Orange County Board of Commissioners, responding to a recent comptroller’s audit that accuses the organization of mishandling millions in Tourist Development Tax dollars.

An audit conducted by Orange County shows that Visit Orlando spent money on items that did not promote tourism.

For the first time since its May grand opening, new numbers are spotlighting the economic surge Universal Epic Universe is fueling in Orange County.

On Monday, Sen. Carlos Guillermo-Smith D-Orlando, revealed his tourism tax reform bill is now part of the state senate tax package.

Florida allows counties to collect a tax of up to 6% on hotel rooms and other short-term lodgings. The money must be used for tourism promotion and for facilities and programs that benefit the tourism industry.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will need a place to play their 2027 home season and Florida Citrus Sports is working to set up a temporary home in Orlando.

Some much-needed upgrades are coming to two of Orlando’s biggest sports venues.

Shortly after commissioners voted to approve nearly $75 million in tourist tax dollars, representatives of the organizations hoping for the funding broke out into applause.

Tourist tax collections fell in Orange County in July compared to June, according to the latest numbers released by the county comptroller’s office.

Orange County saw more revenue from hotels in June 2024 than in May or in June 2023, according to the latest Tourist Development Tax numbers released by the comptroller’s office.

Orange County collected fewer tourist tax dollars in May compared to April, according to newly released estimates by the county comptroller’s office, but the county still had a better May than it did in 2023 — by about $2.2 million.

Florida law dictates how tourist tax dollars can be used, and lawmakers have been reticent to make changes.

Tourist Development Tax (TDT) collections climbed to a record setting $40,550,000 in March, marking another increase in revenue compared to the previous month according to the Orange County Comptroller.

Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond revealed Wednesday that tourist development tax (TDT) collections received for December saw another dip compared to years past.

Orange County leaders got an explanation of what went wrong with onePulse Foundation during Tuesday’s commission meeting, but an investigation into the organization’s finances may take some time.

Mark Tester with the Orange County Convention Center calling the 2022-2023 fiscal year a solid year with nearly 160 events at the venue.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments today challenging the state's 15-week abortion ban.

Comptroller Phil Diamond released Orange County's Tourist Development Tax Numbers for the month of July.

Orange County’s Tourist Development Tax Citizen Task Force has already made recommendations to spend the bulk of the county’s tourism tax on big venues like the county convention center or the Amway Arena.

Orange County’s Tourist Development Tax collections in May showed decreases from the prior month and year, according to Comptroller Phil Diamond.

A committee designed to review and make recommendations on Orange County's Tourist Development Tax (TDT) met for the first time on Wednesday.

September 2022 TDT collections show 48.6% increase over 2021.

Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond announced August 2022 set its own bar with the highest Tourist Development Tax collections for the month on record.

The county’s TDT collections for March 2022 were millions of dollars higher than any monthly collection report published in the last several fiscal years.

Orange County announces its latest revenue numbers.

Collections from the tourism development tax in Orange County broke a record this past December, Comptroller Phil Diamond said.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings holds a news conference to discuss COVID-19.

Tourism Development Tax collections from hotel and resort stays were up 376% this July compared to the same time last year.

June also marked the second month Orange County officials haven’t needed to tap into reserve funds since the pandemic began.

While tourism tax dollar collections have not fully rebounded in Orange County, officials say there are signs of hope.

While the total number of monthly tax collections from hotel and resort stays in Orange County are higher than they were this time last year, the total number of tourism tax dollars collected in April was slightly lower than the number collected in March, according to the latest report from the Orange County Comptroller’s Office.

After taking a downturn in January, Orange County’s tourism development tax collection from hotel and resort stays was back on the rise in February, the latest report shows.

On Monday, Comptroller Phil Diamond shared December’s intake was more than $10.5 million, a 59% drop from December 2019. Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond announced today that TDT collections received by Orange County for the December 2020 TDT collection month were $10,592,000. On the same day December’s collections report was released, Orange County reported 418 new COVID-19 cases. More than 106,000 cases have been confirmed in Orange County since the pandemic began last year. According to Monday’s daily vaccine report from the Florida Department of Health, 2,016,291 people have been vaccinated statewide, including more than 97,000 in Orange County.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County tax collections from hotel and resort stays continued to be at historic lows through the end of 2020 due to the pandemic as COVID-19 infections are on the rise country wide, according to an update from the County Comptroller’s office. Tourism Development Taxes, or TDT dollars, are released a month after the completed tax period. The county has continued to see a month over month improvement in TDT collections since the initial fallout in April when the lockdown began. In October, collections were down 69% compared to the same time last year with $7.7 million in TDT dollars. So far the county has used $93.5 million in reserves since April.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County’s comptroller, Phil Diamond, said the tourist development tax dollars from hotel and resort stays around the county continue to go up after the initial plunge this spring due to coronavirus closures. Diamond announced Monday the September numbers further the trend of increasing collections every month since April. He said the county brought in TDT collections totaling more than $7 million for the month of September. [TRENDING: Eta drenches Florida | 2 killed in Orange County crash | Biden names COVID-19 task force]Diamond said that’s a 60% decrease from the same time last year but he added, in looking at the numbers, there are signs of hope. When you compare September, which is just over $7 million, to the more than $5.7 million in TDT dollars in August of 2020, that’s an increase of over 22%.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. Its that time again, to see if Orange Countys tourism industry has begun to recovery from the financial fallout due to the coronavirus shuttering theme parks and hotels across Florida. Orange Countys tourism development tax collection, or TDT, are collected from hotel and resort stays and go toward tourism-related projects including the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Orange County Convention Center and more. When the theme parks closed in March, hotel stays across the region dropped dramatically to post Sept. 11, 2001 levels. In June, most theme parks began to reopen in a limited capacity leading to more area hotel stays. On Thursday, the Orange County Comptrollers Office will release the TDT numbers for June giving a better indication of where the tourism industry stands in Central Florida.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. The latest tourist tax collection numbers are in and while they arent as low as last months, they still dont look good. Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond announced Wednesday during a news conference that the May 2020 TDT collection totaled $1,144,300, which is a 95% decrease from May 2019. TDT refers to the tax collected from hotel, motel and resort stays in Orange County, also known as a hotel bed tax. [PREVIOUS: Orange Countys tourist tax collection drops 97% to new record low amid coronavirus closures]Diamond said Aprils collection was the smallest amount of TDT the county had ever collected in one month. Diamond said the TDT tax typically pays for projects that attract visitors to the region.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. Central Floridas tourism economy has suffered mightily due to the coronavirus, causing huge downfalls in tourism tax dollars, otherwise known as tourist development tax collected from hotel and vacation rental stays. The Volusia County Revenue Division reported a nearly 80% drop in tourist development tax, or TDT, dollars in April. Compared to April 2019, which saw $1.1 million in tourist development tax revenue, this April only brought in $239,943. The county began to see the fallout from coronavirus closures in March when the county reported $1,024,406 in TDT dollars, compared to nearly $1.6 million from the same time last year. Similarly in Orange County, Comptroller Phil Diamond reported a record 97% drop in revenue from tourism tax dollars in April.