Tourism in Orange County rode a wave of marquee sporting events and high-attendance conventions in January to generate more than $30 million in hotel tax revenue, a record for the traditionally slow post-holiday month.
The tax brought in $30.4 million, about $1.4 million more than in January 2023, the previous best, according to figures released this morning by Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond, whose office tracks receipts of the 6% lodging surcharge.
“January 2024 was an especially busy month for metro Orlando tourism,” he said.
Diamond cited several sporting events of “significant regional impact,” including the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and the return to City Beautiful of NFL Pro Bowl festivities, which helped fill hotels with athletes and spectators.
Both events brought visitors for the last week of January and the first weekend of February.
Visit Orlando officials noted the Orange County Convention Center hosted several large events such as VMX, a gathering of veterinarian; the PGA Show, a golf equipment extravaganza; and the All Out Nationals cheerleading and dance competition.
All drew 27,000 attendees or more.
The fiscal year 2023-24 collections of the Tourist Development Tax, or TDT, trail the record pace of FY 2022-23 by about $3.1 million through the first four months but the revenues have been slightly better than predicted by the comptroller.
![A 20-year-old woman was injured in a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 4 Westbound in Orange County and deputies are searching for three men who fled the scene on Sunday, according to Florida Highway Patrol. Around 11 a.m. the woman was travelling westbound on I-4 in a 2016 Hyundai Tucson when a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro attempted to change lanes and hit the woman’s car causing her vehicle to run off the roadway and overturn, FHP said. Witnesses told deputies they saw three men in their 20s get out of the Camaro run and then get picked up by a silver or […]](https://www.orlandosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/V1-Occupant-Suspect.jpeg?w=162 "A 20-year-old woman was injured in a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 4 Westbound in Orange County and deputies are searching for three men who fled the scene on Sunday, according to Florida Highway Patrol. Around 11 a.m. the woman was travelling westbound on I-4 in a 2016 Hyundai Tucson when a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro attempted to change lanes and hit the woman’s car causing her vehicle to run off the roadway and overturn, FHP said. Witnesses told deputies they saw three men in their 20s get out of the Camaro run and then get picked up by a silver or […]")
