Tourism roundup: What\u2019s up with Epic, Stardust Racers, May Pang and more<\/a><\/p>\nBut the numbers released by Diamond\u2019s office were essentially pre-war figures.<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Israel didn\u2019t strike Iran until Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravel plans were made, people were already en route by then,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cIt will be really interesting to look at the March numbers, the April numbers and numbers for the other months going forward because that\u2019s when the impacts will be felt. It\u2019s hard to believe that it won\u2019t have at least some impact on the area because frankly it\u2019s going to cost more to travel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diamond said people will feel higher fuel prices in their lives because those costs filter through the entire economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much depends on how long the war goes on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Comptroller\u2019s TDT report usually is released about five weeks after collections. The report for March \u2014 the strongest in most years \u2014 is due in early May.<\/p>\n
U.S. gas prices jumped Monday to a national average of $4.12 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club.<\/p>\n
The increase has raised the cost for drivers by 38% since President Donald Trump declared war six weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Florida gas prices also surged to the highest level in four years peaking at $4.23 per gallon. Sunday\u2019s state average was $4.21 a gallon, 25 cents a gallon higher than a week ago, nearly $1.00 more than last month and over $1.00 per gallon more than this time last year.<\/p>\n
Still, Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando, remains optimistic, despite the higher gas prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen fuel prices rise, what we typically see is travelers adjusting their plans, not cancelling them, especially when higher gas prices aren\u2019t tied to a broader economic slowdown,\u201d she said. \u201cTravel intent tends to remain very resilient, particularly for destinations with strong brands and a wide range of experiences. And that\u2019s where Orlando continues to perform well, offering value, flexibility and reasons for visitors to keep coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said February was a strong month for travel to Orlando.<\/p>\n
Hotel occupancy during the President\u2019s Day weekend averaged 91%.<\/p>\n
Metro Orlando hotels recorded an 89% occupancy rate \u2014 the second highest weekly rate in more than five years.<\/p>\n
The average daily room rate for the month reached $262.27, up from $225.50 in February 2025.<\/p>\n
Among the big February draws to the Orange County Convention Center were the National Kitchen & Bath Association and the National Association of Home Builders, which brought more than 120,000 conventioneers for Design & Construction Week events.<\/p>\n
The shows are the largest annual gatherings of residential construction and design industry professionals.<\/p>\n
Matej said hotel room demand in metro Orlando for through May is pacing 2% ahead of last year.<\/p>\n
She said Visit Orlando, the TDT-funded destination marketing organization that promotes the area\u2019s attractions and experiences, monitors flight search data for travelers, which continues to pace ahead with volume through May to Orlando up 4% year over year.<\/p>\n
TDT revenues have been used to expand, renovate and maintain the Orange County Convention Center. It has also been used to expand Camping World Stadium, build the KIA Center, upgrade arts and cultural venues, and bid for marquee sporting events.<\/p>\n
shudak@orlandosentinel.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Orange County\u2019s record run of tourist tax collections stretched to 11 consecutive months with February\u2019s receipts totaling $38.1…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[558,740,28,114,266,115,1335,139,141,140,109,1316],"class_list":{"0":"post-220840","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-local-news","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-orange-county","15":"tag-orlando","16":"tag-orlando-headlines","17":"tag-orlando-news","18":"tag-social","19":"tag-tourism"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}