Visit Orlando board receives 2016 audit with no questions
Visit Orlando’s board received a 2016 audit Wednesday unanimously and with no questions, amid scrutiny of tourism-marketing spending. The board also heard a report from its president and CEO George Aguel about growing concern over the impact of President Donald Trump’s proposed travel ban on international travel.
Steven Jamieson, chair of the audit and oversight committee, said it was still reviewing spending in two areas: executive compensation, and entertainment and travel expenses.
“What we’ve looked at, looks very good,” said Jamieson, general manager for Mall at Millenia. “We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”
Jamieson said of the internal review, “It’s quite intense, the level of detail we go into. We choose them at random, and go through them line by line.”
An auditor for BDO said the results of its audit on Visit Orlando’s books was “outstanding” and the firm found “no deficiencies on internal control.”
The Sentinel reported last week that records show Visit Orlando has recorded big expenses with simple labels such as “marketing collaboration” and “marketing association.”
Most of Visit Orlando’s budget — more than $50 million a year — comes from Orange County hotel taxes. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said recently her staff “is looking at opportunities for Visit Orlando to provide greater detail for the use of public funds.”
Visit Orlando’s preliminary numbers for visitors in 2017 show growth, but Aguel said “the rhetoric, not the actuality, of the travel ban is having impact across the country.” Aguel sits on the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board to Trump’s Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.
International travel represents about 10 percent of visitor volume to Orlando, but travelers from other countries spend twice as much here as do domestic travelers, he said.
Visit Orlando is most concerned about international convention travelers avoiding the U.S., Aguel said. He noted the Global Business Travel Association expects a $1.3 billion loss to the U.S. in travelrelated spending.
Aguel said Orlando may expand its use of “Thank You” cards to international travelers.
Wednesday’s board meeting took place as Gov. Rick Scott considers vetoing the state budget, over cuts in funding for marketing and incentives to Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida. Those cuts were prompted partly by the Legislature’s concern over lack of disclosure about such expenses. Visit Orlando advertises with the Orlando Sentinel.
The more vague descriptions of Visit Orlando’s expenses began appearing in June 2014, within days of Visit Orlando announcing a U.S. Tennis Association sponsorship deal that included hosting receptions and distributing merchandise and having the agency’s logo on U.S. Open courts.
Visit Orlando has made a total of more than $7 million in such payments since then, while signing more marketing agreements.
A statement provided previously by the agency said some of its agreements “require mutual confidentiality to ensure Orlando is not placed at a competitive disadvantage.”