Orange County’s tourist development tax collection dipped 3.5 percent in December when compared to December 2015, according to county leaders.
“I had hoped that we would see tourist tax revenue increases like we saw last month,” said Phil Diamond, the county’s comptroller. “This is a reminder that tourist tax collections will fluctuate from month to month.”
Tourist development taxes are charged on short-term rentals, mostly hotels and motels
December’s collection rate was $20 million, compared to the $20.8 million collected in December 2015, according to county records.
The month’s collection also followed a record-setting collection in December 2015, the first time the county had more than $20 million in TDT for that month. December 2015’s collection was 12 percent higher than December 2014.
Collection rates for October and November, the first months of the 2016-17 fiscal year, were up nearly 7 percent each month. Despite the decrease in December’s collection, fiscal year collection is up 6.6 percent in year-over-year, according to county records.
December’s low collection rate is the end cap of a sluggish year for Orlando’s tourism industry. Some of the region’s largest attractions reported decreased attendance figures. In a second-quarter earnings call last year, Joel Manby, SeaWorld Entertainment’s chief executive officer, described it as a “Florida problem” and said the slowdown was statewide.
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