Orange County reports 97% decrease in 'resort tax' revenue for April

ORLANDO, Fla. - Orange County is reporting a 97% decrease in tourist development tax (TDT) collections in April as a result of the weekslong coronavirus lockdown.

Collections received by Orange County for April were $765,900,000, which represents the largest monthly percentage decrease and the largest monthly dollar decrease in the history of what is often referred to as the "resort tax."

"This is the smallest monthly TDT amount ever collected by this office," said Orange Comptroller Phil Diamond. "This is comparable to 1980 level collections on a per-penny basis."

While unprecedented, Diamond said it was not completely unexpected, as the economy was essentially shut down for all of April.

"For the same reason, May’s collections will likely show a significant decline as well," Diamond added. "That said, Universal and many smaller attractions will be open by the end of this week. SeaWorld will reopen later this month and Disney World will begin reopening next month."

Diamond added that it will likely take months to see how the reopening plays out but officials are optimistic that collections will rebound.