Central Florida tourism workers face a cruel dilemma as businesses begin to reopen from the shutdowns, union advocates said Monday.
March’s $17.6M fall shows the economic toll of the pandemic
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Orange County’s tourist tax collections fell by $17.6 million in March, the worst one-month crash in the 40-year history of the tax, Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond said Monday.
April’s figures likely will be worse, he said. Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando were open in March for about two weeks, shutting down March 15.
The theme parks are closed and no reopening has been set.
“It was on target to be a great year. I thought we had a shot at hitting $300 million,” Diamond said, citing trends prior to the pandemic. “Frankly there’s no reason to believe the [April] numbers are going to be any better than the March numbers.”
Diamond revealed the figures Monday at a county briefing about the coronavirus, which is still date blamed for more than 1,700 deaths in Florida, including 35 in Orange County. The virus also brought an economic plummet, shuttering Orlando’s world-famous attractions, hotels, the Orange County Convention Center and all but halted flights at Orlando International Airport, one of the nation’s busiest.
Collections for March totaled $13.6 million, which is about 57% lower than collections in March 2019 and the smallest amount collected in nearly seven years. Prior to COVID-19 closing down many Central Florida businesses, bed tax collections were up $10 million on last year’s record year, but just two months later, that figure now trails by $8 million.
Diamond said strong county reserves will cover debt payments related to the Orange County Convention Center and other obligations.
The tax, a 6% levy on hotel stays, AirBnb and other shortterm rentals, was enacted in 1979, and is used to pay debt on the convention center, build other venues such as the Dr.