{"id":384613,"date":"2026-08-29T15:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384613\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T15:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:26:11","slug":"orlandos-tourism-industry-gets-a-boost-from-staycationers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384613\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando’s tourism industry gets a boost from staycationers"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a Saturday morning, when the rest of the world is still sleeping or sipping their coffee, the splash pad is already in high demand at Orlando\u2019s Grove Resort and Water Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s another day in the tourism capital of the world.<\/p>\n

Even as some warily watch Florida\u2019s tourism visitation numbers<\/a> amid the economic uncertainty and world politics, Orlando\u2019s industry is still busy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still seeing that we\u2019re either on pace month by month or increased pace compared to last year,\u201d Visit Orlando CEO Casandra Matej<\/a> told Florida Politics in a recent interview. \u201cWe\u2019re positioned quite well. We\u2019re a desirable destination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit Orlando won\u2019t release annual 2026 numbers until May 2027, but the organization said hotel demand is 1% over last year through June.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

People are grappling with rising groceries and an affordability crisis, but that doesn\u2019t stop them from vacationing \u2014 they just vacation differently, said Matej.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravel in most people\u2019s lives has now become so essential,\u201d Matej said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s to relax, rewind, reconnect with your families, travel is important to most families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some shorten their weeklong trips to three or four days, for instance. Others drive and go on a road trip on a tank of gas, which is cheaper than flying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing today\u2019s guests are considerably more deliberate in how and when they spend discretionary income,\u201d Dennis Speigel<\/a>, International Theme Park Services CEO and a longtime theme parks industry observer, wrote recently<\/a>. \u201cThey compare prices more aggressively, seek promotional offers and increasingly expect flexibility should circumstances change. This does not necessarily indicate weaker demand for an outing. Rather, research says it reflects a more cautious consumer navigating an uncertain economic environment reflecting how they spend their money and time.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Grove Resort, located six miles from Disney World, guests are not only paying attention to the price but the overall values and the amenities included, said marketing director Sharon Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n\"\"Image via The Grove Resort.<\/p>\n

Part of the draw is hotel guests automatically get free admission into the resort\u2019s water park to relax in the 700-foot lazy river and go down water slides. The resort offers other perks, like free transportation to Disney World. The condo-style hotel rooms come with a full kitchen so guests can cook meals if they want to save money.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of multi-generational families that come and stay with us,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cThey can prepare their meals themselves. Usually it\u2019s very common to see these multi-generational families have breakfast at their condo. Then they go ahead and they either enjoy the resort amenities or go to the theme parks without having to spend extra on going to a restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

About half of The Grove Resort\u2019s guests are in-state residents or drive down from Georgia. Floridans traveling to Orlando from Miami, Tampa and elsewhere has been on the rise. Instate visitors increased 3.4% in 2025, Visit Orlando reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Central Floridians on staycations also play a \u201chuge\u201d role in Orlando\u2019s tourism industry, Matej said.<\/p>\n

Visit Orlando continues to promote special hotel deals aimed at Central Floridians during the August-September slower season to further boost hotel stays.<\/p>\n

For the fifth year in a row, Visit Orlando is offering \u201cMagical Nights<\/a>\u201d where several hotels offer discounted rates under the Magical Dining promotion<\/a> (where restaurants sell a three-course fixed menu price with proceeds going to charity which runs through Sept. 30.)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can turn that date night into a staycation,\u201d Matej said.<\/p>\n

And there is other good news for Orlando\u2019s tourism industry: It\u2019s August. That means it\u2019s officially Halloween season as Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens and Legoland Florida will be offering Trick-or-Treating for the little ones or intense haunted houses for brave adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say that Halloween, weather permitting, is our \u2018sure thing,’\u201d for the theme park industry and tourism, Speigel said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a Saturday morning, when the rest of the world is still sleeping or sipping their coffee, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[18181,139,141,140,16677,154120,11022],"class_list":["post-384613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-casandra-matej","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-orlando-tourism","tag-the-grove-resort","tag-visit-orlando"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384613","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=384613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}