Orange County's Tourism Development Tax advisory task force meets to weigh applications for grants
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Tourism Development Tax Citizen Advisory Task Force met on Monday to discuss how Orange County tourism tax funds will be used.
In its sixth meeting, the task force made its initial recommendations on which entities they believe should get the tourism development tax dollars.
The Tourism Development Tax (TDT) is paid by Orange County visitors staying in hotels and short-term rentals. The revenue for 2022 was $336 million, which is the highest the county has ever seen. There were 55 requests for a portion of the tourism tax revenue, but only 11 entities met the requirements.
The top five on the list include the Orange County Convention Center for improvement projects, Florida Citrus Sports for a roof at Camping World Stadium, the Amway Center for renovations, the Dr. Phillips Center for expansion including an outdoor auditorium, and UCF Athletics for construction of a sports village.
The Orlando Dreamers who want to build a stadium in Orlando had a lower ranking by the citizen task force with comments like they'd like to see an MLB team secured first.
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The task force is made up of more than 30 members making recommendations from various backgrounds.
"We really tried to de-politicize the process so we could get objective input from our residents about the priorities that they would make for the spending of the tourism development tax revenue in Orange County," said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings. "From this process, we wanted to make sure whatever is recommended benefits the entire community, not just one particular segment."
There will be two more meetings before the task force makes its final recommendations. The next meeting will be on July 17.
The decision will ultimately be up to the county commission. More information about the task force, applicants, and the process can be found here.