Despite some economic worries, there were record-breaking tourist development tax collections in Orange County, as travel demand to Central Florida seems to remain strong.

Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond recently announced that Tourist Development Tax (TDT) collections received by Orange County for the August 2025 TDT collection month were $25,649,100. That is a 10.7% increase compared to August 2024.

“August 2025 marked a record-breaking month, reflecting the strongest collections for any August and underscoring sustained momentum in summer collections” said Comptroller Diamond.

Because of this recent performance, which is being helped by Central Florida’s newest theme park, Universal Epic Universe and consistent Disney demand to the area, County Commissioners may want to tap into more of the tourist tax dollars for spending.

According to Visit Orlando, “Orlando’s hotel occupancy rose to 63.9% in August, a 2.5% increase over last year, with room demand increasing by a higher margin of 4.3%. The Average Daily Rate (ADR) reached $164.07, up 2.3% from the previous year ($160.36). The Orange County Convention Center saw a 66.7% increase in attendance, driven by major events such as Assemblies of God’s General Council and The Landscape Show. Short-term rentals across Metro Orlando posted an 18% jump in demand, though ADR dipped by 5%.”

On the TDT reserve side, Renewal & Replacement Reserves (R&RR) increased by $11.9 million in August as shown in the attached “TDT Cash Reserve Summary”. The Other Authorized Uses Reserves, which is a component of the R&RR, is currently at $166.8 million. In the coming months, a portion of the planned increase in this reserve account will be utilized to make the initial debt service payment to the City of approximately $27 million related to the $400 million Camping World Stadium renovation project, along with a $10 million payment to UCF for the $90 million football stadium tower expansion and renovation project.

The Orange County Comptroller will release the September TDT collections report in early November.