Wednesday, July 30, 2025
A recent Orange County audit revealed Visit Orlando, the city’s official tourism bureau, had misclassified tourism development tax (TDT) dollars, funneling the money into non-tourism-related spending. Made public on Tuesday, the audit focuses on millions of dollars of funds meant to promote the city’s tourism industry. The investigation found that funds were spent on personal perks for executives and on items that did not directly promote tourism.
The audit report is released as Visit Orlando faces increased scrutiny from Orange County leaders and the public, and amid pressure to increase transparency and tighten controls on the spending of tourist tax dollars. Orlando is Florida’s biggest tourist destination, drawing millions of visitors to central Florida every year, and the public needs assurance that the money generated by tourism is being handled properly.
What the Audit Found: Misclassified and Misused Funds
The audit found Visit Orlando misused large sums of the money, or mispent tax revenue on “purposes other than promoting tourism.” The audit singled out that Visit Orlando incorrectly categorized funds as private revenue, rather than public TDT dollars, which have specific financial regulations on how such funds are to be dispersed.
The audit found that the agency spent $379,780 on expenses that seemed to have nothing to do with tourism, among them the $20,600 spent on two skyboxes at the 2023 NCAA March Madness tournament, the majority of whose attendees were staff members of the agency and elected officials, rather than potential tourism clients. Among the other questionable expenses: $427,700 on developing an environmental sustainability policy; $860,000 on luncheons; and $12,210 on a car allowance for Visit Orlando’s CEO.
Other expenses detailed in the audit included $6,505 for office decor, $1,821 on sneakers, and $417 on Christmas sweaters and cards, with no apparent connection to tourism or promoting Orlando as a tourist destination. The moves have sparked questions about how Visit Orlando has stewarded money and abided by Orange County rules that require TDT funds to be spent to develop local tourism.
Effects of the Audit on Visit Orlando’s Operations
The scrutiny couldn’t come at a worse time for Visit Orlando, which gets more of the tourism development tax money than any other agency in the region. Visit Orlando collected $105 million in 2023, 92 percent of the organization’s total revenue. The city’s tourism promotion arm, and that is what Visit Orlando is, has the responsibility of making the most of tax dollars to increase tourism and create jobs. But the audit indicates the agency has not always followed those directives, undercutting the agency’s work.
The activities of Visit Orlando have been controversial, with local officials in the public questioning whether it is in line with the goals of the county in terms of promotion of tourism. Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond explains the importance of additional oversight of Visit Orlando, which gets a major share of the county’s taxes on tourism money that should be distributed openly to the community.
Visit Orlando’s response: Committed to Transparency
Visit Orlando President and CEO Casandra Matej said in a written response to the audit the group values transparency and financial responsibility. She said the audit was “primarily reclassification of certain funds for accounting purposes,” pointing out that the “vast majority” of those were all COVID-era tax credits and other non-TDT sources of money.
Matej also tried to reassure the public that Visit Orlando had already started to use many of the audit’s recommendations and was working with the county to resolve issues related to how funds are allocated. Visit Orlando has had a long-standing relationship with the county, and Matej said the organization is dedicated to using the audit as a learning experience to make sure they aren’t making the same mistakes going forward.
Orange County’s Advice: An Appeal for More Oversight
The Orange County Comptroller’s Office recommended a number of changes to strengthen oversight and accountability, following the audit. Phil Diamond, the Comptroller, recommended that Visit Orlando should reimburse the county at least $3.5 million for the misclassified funds, and that the tourism group’s contract with Orange County should be amended to give stronger direction in how TDT funds should be spent.
Diamond also recommended that an independent study be done to measure Visit Orlando’s return on investment for the events it hosts, with a special focus on those events funded through TDT. He also pointed to a Michelin event in New York City, where the highlight was turned away from the Orlando restaurant being promoted, likely a misuse of public funds for its intended purpose.
Though Visit Orlando has already started to implement some of the recommendations, including streamlining its internal procedures, the audit has accelerated a broader discussion in Florida about spending tourism tax dollars. Opponents say that TDT dollars should also serve the residents, who would get their payment through public transit, affordable housing, and other community services that reciprocally support the tourism and hospitality industry.
The Path Forward: Growth Versus Accountability
The audit has caused some serious friction between Visit Orlando and Orange County, as well as bad blood amongst the public. But both “Visit Orlando and the county seem intent on cleaning up those blemishes and ensuring responsible use of tourism taxes going forward.
Orange County is discussing the possibility of changing the distribution of TDT funding. Visit Orlando has already said it is committed to working side by side with the county to fix what is wrong. So, the big takeaway at this point is simple: We need better financial controls and a more transparent manner of using taxpayers’ money. And as Visit Orlando continues down the path of public trust recovery, it’s clear that accountability is going to be the name of the game moving forward for Orlando’s tourist biz.
(Source: Orange County Comptroller’s Office, Visit Orlando, Orange County Government)
