One of the key areas of focus for Visit Orlando is Travel Industry Sales—the leisure sales segment. You wouldn't buy a house without a real estate agent, and for one of our key audiences, especially in international markets, you don't buy travel without working through travel trade and professional advisors.
That means ensuring our major travel consortiums, retailers and host agencies have the education and tools they need to sell Orlando to their clients. In 2024, Visit Orlando's Travel Industry team conducted over 450 educational events, training over 40,000 travel advisors.
Through partnerships and advertising, the team delivered over 9,500 graduates through the Orlando Travel Academy, Visit Orlando’s best-in-class e-learning program. The result is real business to our destination, thousands of room nights sold through these activities and an estimated $735 million in economic impact.
For 2025, our team is off to a strong start by attending Florida Huddle and Florida Encounter in Ocala, FL, at the World Equestrian Center. Attracting over 550 attendees from more than 27 countries, Florida Huddle is the Sunshine State’s Official Travel Trade Show. The event showcases the best of Florida to international and domestic tour operators, wholesalers, and media. Florida Encounter features appointments between fully hosted, qualified planners with proven business for Florida and Florida suppliers.
Casandra Matej announces Orlando as the host city for Florida Huddle & Florida Encounter in 2026.
Across three days, Visit Orlando’s Travel Industry Sales team conducted over 60 appointments with buyers, including Ocean Holidays, AAA, Air Canada Vacations and more. At the closing event, I announced to hundreds of travel professionals that Orlando will host Florida Huddle and Florida Encounter in 2026 at the Hilton Orlando and shared a preview of what they’ll see in Orlando next year.
Looking ahead, your Visit Orlando team will continue to prioritize attending trade shows to create valuable connections that drive business and boost the economy.
Next, our team will be at ANATO, a top industry trade show hosted by the Colombian Association for Travel Agencies and Tourism, followed by ITB Berlin, the world's largest travel and tourism trade show, and then World Travel Market Latin America (WTM LATAM), the leading B2B global event for the Latin American travel industry.
Data & Trends
December 2024 TDT Collections:Tourist Development Tax (TDT) collections received by Orange County for the December 2024 TDT collection month were $31,761,400. This represents the highest December collections on record and is a 6.4% increase from the previous year. Compared to last month, December collections were lower than November collections by $26,900. In addition, collections were higher than December 2022 collections by $536,200. The chart above shows the monthly year-over-year dollar amount change in TDT collections since October 2022.
Strong Year-End Travel Performance: Orlando ended 2024 with strong travel performance in December. Hotel occupancy grew 4% from December 2023, settling at 73.2%— the third-highest monthly occupancy for the year after February and March. The average daily rate (ADR) for hotels was $209.93, up 2.2% increase from last year ($205.45). A robust holiday season boosted performance, with room night demand increasing 7.4% during the Christmas-New Year period.
The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) saw a boost in citywide attendance thanks to large events, like I/ITSEC (a global technology conference organized by the National Training & Simulation Association), Holiday Matsuri (an annual festive celebration of anime, gaming and cosplay), the Pop Warner Cheer Championships and the AKC National Championship (combined attendance: 92,500).
Weekly Hotel Metrics: Metro Orlando’s hotel occupancy rate for the week ending Feb. 1, 2025, was 78.4%, up 5% from the same week last year. The ADR for the week was $224.62 which was up 7.4% from last year. Room night demand surpassed the prior year by 5.4%.
Orlando’s Occupancy and ADR both ranked third highest among the top 25 domestic markets according to STR. As anticipated, the combination of VMX at the OCCC at the start of the week and the NFL Pro Bowl events towards the end of last week helped boost Orlando’s hotel performance. Next week’s report is also expected to be strong with MegaCon approaching.
Around the Destination
Orange County Act Awards Recognize 40+ Arts And Culture Groups Receiving TDT Grants
The Orange County Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs recognized more than 40 organizations with cultural tourism grants funded by the Tourist Development Tax (TDT) at the second annual ACT (Arts, Culture and Tourism) Awards held at the UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management. The event highlighted Orange County’s strategic investment of TDT funds in supporting and promoting the arts across the County. Congratulations to the grant recipients! Arts and culture play a key role in showcasing how Orlando is Unbelievably Real, and we look forward to working with these organizations to promote the city’s diverse offerings and further enrich our community. Watch the ACT Awards, celebrating arts and cultural tourism.
The City of Orlando begins its year-long celebration marking the city’s 150th anniversary.
City Of Orlando Kicks Off Year-long 150th Anniversary Celebration
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the City of Orlando officially launched its year-long celebration marking the city’s 150th anniversary. City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, alongside city officials and community partners, kicked off the announcement with the unveiling of a commemorative banner and announced new exhibitions this year, such as the Orlando Collected at the Orange County Regional History Center and Changing Face of Orlando: A Sesquicentennial Celebration public art exhibition. The grand celebration will take place on July 31, the city’s official birthday, and will include a city-wide service event and free admission to popular attractions, like Leu Gardens and the Mennello Museum. The city has also launched an official 150th anniversary webpage for residents to stay updated on upcoming events, submit personal pieces of Orlando's history, and discover how to get involved throughout the year.
Robert Agrusa, president and CEO of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association (CFHLA), speaks to attendees at CFHLA’s State of Hospitality and Tourism.
CFHLA’S State of Hospitality & Tourism
The Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association held its 2025 State of Hospitality & Tourism at Caribe Royale Orlando. The event featured presentations on Central Florida's market trends, including average daily rate and occupancy in 2024 and national and local forecasts for 2025. It also included newly released workforce data and career growth opportunities ahead for the hospitality industry. Nilda Blanco, senior VP of Strategic Initiatives for CareerSource of Central FL, and Isaac Collazo, VP of Analytics for STR, shed light on the region's robust growth, with an anticipated addition of 5,000 hotel rooms over the next year. Additionally, the job market has shown a 13% increase in hospitality job postings this past month, indicating strong labor demand. Salaries are also on the rise, with entry-level wages averaging $39,000 annually, $8,000 more than last year—affirming Florida continues to be a prime area for hospitality professionals.
Kelly Seidl, owner of Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream. Credit: Orlando Business Journal; Branden Barker/ACBJ; handout art
Orlando Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business — Visit Orlando Member Organization Featured
Congratulations to Kelly Seidl, owner of Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream, for being highlighted in Orlando Business Journal’s 2025 Women Who Mean Business list, recognizing 25 outstanding female leaders. The honorees were selected based on business achievements, community involvement and personal accomplishments in the past year. They’ll be celebrated at an awards event on May 9 for going above and beyond in their respective roles and exceeding expectations—all while driving business success, industry growth, workforce development and community advancement. We’re so fortunate to have a diverse group of trailblazers across various industries, including those in hospitality and tourism, all playing a role in advancing the destination.
Participate in Kelly's Annual Fundraiser for Charity: Each February, Kelly’s participates in ‘Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Month’ to support children fighting cancer. All month long, the drive raises money for the Haley Center for Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer. Additionally, Dr. Phillips Charities will match a portion of the funds raised up to $10,000. Please consider supporting this fundraiser. You can help in two ways: donate at checkout and visit any Scoop Shop on Tuesday, Feb. 18 between 5 and 9 p.m. when half of every sale will be donated.
Visit Orlando Engaged!
L to R: Cody Chomiak, CDME, VP of Marketing at Travel Manitoba; Denise Spiegel, Visit Orlando’s VP of Communications; Dodie Stephens, VP of Marketing at Explore Asheville; and Justin Bresler (Emcee), CMO, VP of Business Development at Visit Denver
Destinations International Marketing & Comms Summit
Destinations International hosted its 2025 Marketing and Communications Summit in Austin, Texas. The conference is for personal and professional development tailored specifically to seasoned marketing and communications professionals at destination organizations. Denise Spiegel, Visit Orlando’s VP of Communications, participated in panel session: Marketing the Marketing where she shared a case study on how Visit Orlando promoted our destination featured on Somebody Feed Phil. At the conference AI was a hot topic, and one framework shared for using AI within your business was the ”PASTA” method: policy, accountability, security, transparency, and authenticity.
Visit Orlando team members and U.S. Travel writers at Bombay Street Café.
Visit Orlando Hosts Press Trip For U.S. Travel Writers
As part of our ongoing campaign to promote the unexpected side of Orlando, Visit Orlando’s public relations team hosted a press trip for U.S. travel writers contributing to national outlets, such as Forbes, Conde Nast Traveler, USA Today, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure and more. Themed as a girlfriend getaway, the itinerary focused on dining, wellness, and entertainment to align with key messaging within Orlando’s diverse neighborhoods and districts. The group experienced our award-winning culinary scene, arts and cultural programming and visited local business owners for interactive activities.
