OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A slight decrease in Osceola County Tourism Tax Dollars has pushed the county to look at new ways of enticing more visitors.
The county’s tourism authority said it saw dominating tourist development tax numbers last year, but since numbers have dipped because of a weak economy.
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Experience Kissimmee is a marketing company that Osceola County funds to market tourism. The President and CEO, D.T Minich, said the increase in tourism visitation dollars was helped by a bounce back of the pandemic.
Minich said that at the beginning of the year, the county’s bed tax collection dropped 5%.
Osceola County said tourist revenue for December 2023 totaled $7.1 Million, down 4% compared to the prior year and still the second-highest December of all time.
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“That was a market adjustment. We have a lot of campaigns running right now to make sure Spring Break, Passover, and Easter are such important times for the tourism industry in Osceola County,” said Minich.
The county uses half the money for marketing and developing campaigns for things like vacation homes, which are currently in the construction process along 192 near the Fun Spot Amusement Park.
Minich said as the year continues, we will see the market adjust the way tourist tax revenue comes in, but he sees a great start to the spring break.
“We’ve got a lot of market activities going to make the springtime strong moving right into summer as well,” said Minich.
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The county plans to also add big-name hotels to draw in more business to the county.
Last month, Kissimmee city commissioners voted to reject a bid for the Civic Center, which they said is home to roughly 200 to 250 events yearly. Commissioners argued that hiring a developer and hotelier could cause the city to lose out on revenue they get from renting out the space.
Commissioners said they want to turn it into an upscale hotel with conference space.
The county’s Tourist Development Tax fiscal year began in October.
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