Drew Wilson
While lawmakers waged a behind-the-scenes war over how Florida’s lucrative tourist development tax funds should be spent, voters across the political spectrum are already sold on the current system.
New polling from the AIF Center for Political Strategy shows overwhelming bipartisan support for Florida’s existing TDT structure. Eighty-one percent of voters say they back the policy of using hotel taxes to pay for tourism-related costs such as marketing, sports facilities, and beach renourishment — including 88% of Republicans, 72% of Democrats, and 79% of Independents. Approval was broad across racial and ethnic lines, and net favorability in the Orlando media market, where TDT revenues flow, topped +73%.
That local backing stands in stark contrast to efforts in the Capitol this year. Proposals in both chambers sought to overhaul how counties can use TDT revenue, with some lawmakers, such as Rep. Mike Giallombardo and Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, pushing to let local governments apply hotel tax dollars toward infrastructure, transit, and affordable housing.
Orange County, which pulled in $364 million in hotel tax revenue last year, became a focal point of the fight. Smith’s Senate plan would’ve allowed spending beyond tourism ads after a $50 million threshold was met — a response to concerns that groups like Visit Orlando were hoarding nine-figure ad budgets. At the same time, core services like SunRail and Lynx buses went underfunded.
The House went further, proposing to dissolve all 62 tourist development councils statewide and repurpose the funds for general government use — a move critics said would gut Florida’s tourism brand and hurt counties that depend on destination marketing.
Those ideas died in the final budget negotiations this year, but they’re a safe bet to return in 2026, which will likely bring broad debates on ways and means, including further discussion on property tax abolition.
The AIF poll was conducted June 9-11 by McLaughlin & Associates. It has a sample size of 800 likely Florida voters, with a margin of error of ±3.5 %.
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Florida Politics reporter Gabrielle Russon contributed to this post.
