Visit Orlando CEO’s pay nears $700K, tax filing shows

As county officials probe Visit Orlando’s spending, a newly released tax filing shows the top executive for the region’s tourism marketing agency earned nearly $700,000 last year while 10 other top officials each made more than $200,000.

Visit Orlando’s tax form also shows that about 92% of its $100-million-plus annual budget comes from public money, mostly hotel taxes — a proportion likely to embolden critics who argue tourism-based businesses ought to pay more of the marketing tab.

Visit Orlando CEO Casandra Matej received $693,170 in total compensation in 2024, while other top officials earned from $231,000 to nearly $400,000, according to the nonprofit organization’s IRS filing made public this week.

Matej’s compensation package is in line with other executives in comparable roles, an adviser to the agency said, but Visit Orlando has faced scrutiny over its use of public money.

“Frankly, regardless of what industry norms might say, Florida has made it clear through the DOGE process and increased public scrutiny that lavish salaries funded with public dollars are a thing of the past,” said Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad.

A recent audit concluded Visit Orlando misallocated at least $3.54 million, and maybe nearly $20 million dating back to 2019, in hotel tax money by wrongfully classifying it as private funds, which have far fewer restrictions on their use. Visit Orlando has pushed back on the audit’s findings.

Matej joined Visit Orlando, an advertising agency subsidized with hotel tax dollars, in 2021 at an annual salary of $395,000. In her previous role, Matej served as president and CEO of Visit San Antonio. Her predecessor, George Aguel, made more than $630,000 a year at the end of his tenure with Visit Orlando.

Visit Orlando’s salaries are in line with what CEOs and executives are earning in comparable roles in the tourism industry, said Mark Gamble, chairman and CEO of SearchWide Global, which has advised the organization’s board on executive compensation.

“They have done an exceptional job at studying the research and making sure she is not above the average or is at or below,” he said.

Gamble called Visit Orlando a “top-tier” job that is vital for one of the world’s most-visited destinations.

Matej’s average workload in the tax filing was listed at 60 hours per week. In addition to promoting Orlando’s brand globally, she works to attract conventions, gather economic data and forge community partnerships.

Top tourism marketers in other cities are also earning lucrative salaries, according to a survey of 2022 CEO compensation packages by Skift, a travel industry publication. The head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, for instance, earned $724,711, while the leader of Visit Tampa Bay took in $451,221.

Visit Florida’s new CEO, Bryan Griffin, was hired in July at a salary not to exceed $215,000. Griffin, who served as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ communications chief, came to the agency with no experience leading a tourism marketing agency.

Other top earners at Visit Orlando include the chief marketing officer, who made nearly $400,000, the senior vice president of membership and support services, who earned about $308,500, and the senior vice president of finance and business affairs, who made nearly $287,000.

Those are remarkable salaries in a region where the median wage is $45,410 a year, ranking second-to-last among the nation’s top 50 metro areas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other community leaders earn less than Visit Orlando’s CEO. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ salary, for instance, is $261,209.

In a statement, Demings called upon Visit Orlando’s Board of Directors to review CEO and executive compensation to ensure salaries are consistent with industry standards in Florida.

Visit Orlando outlined in an email the steps it takes to set executive salaries.

The organization engages a third-party firm annually to conduct a compensation survey, benchmarking salaries against other large destination marketing organizations, according to Visit Orlando’s executive committee. The CEO’s salary is more than 10% below the average compensation for CEOs in Visit Orlando’s peer group, according to the committee.

Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe said she wants to ensure Visit Orlando is transparent and accountable, but she didn’t find the organization’s executive salaries to be out of line given what its competitors pay.

“Part of hiring the best is staying competitive with what the industry is paying,” she said.

The tax filing also shows Visit Orlando is heavily reliant on public funding, which made up about 92% of the organization’s $113.7 million in revenue.

Visit Orlando is primarily funded through a 6% tax on hotel stays and short-term rentals, which generated more than $380 million during the 2024-25 budget year. In addition to tourism promotion, the money is used for the Orange County Convention Center, sporting venues, and the arts and museums.

State Sen. Carlos Smith, D-Orlando, said he’d like to see the tourism industry put up more private funding for Visit Orlando. He’s been pushing legislation to change spending rules for hotel tax revenue.

“A real public-private partnership with Visit Orlando would require public funds to be matched with private dollars,” he said. “That would ensure more efficient use of taxpayer money when the tourism industry has skin in the game.”