VISIT Orlando, the area’s tourism marketing arm, has so far resisted giving House Speaker Richard Corcoran detailed financial records of how it spends its money.
Sandra Pedicini of the Orlando Sentinel reports that while Orange County turned over its records on tourism spending, including details on the convention center, it didn’t contain the information on VISIT Orlando the House Speaker was looking for.
Corcoran spokesman Fred Piccolo said “the requests for information are not over and we fully expect Orange County’s submission to include VISIT Orlando. If it does not, my guess is they can expect a letter. … We have not finished examining submissions but superficial or incomplete information will lead to further requests.”
The information that was turned over by the Orange County tourist-development council may not have included details on VISIT Florida, though it did have details on convention center salaries and marketing efforts.
The information shows the center budgeted $19.2 million for salaries for 431 positions, 50 of which were listed as vacant, and the center spent $413,000 on advertising during the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The center also spent $205,000 on more than 70 trips to attract clients during the fiscal year.
Since VISIT Orlando is a nonprofit, some of the information can be parsed out from the groups IRS filings.
According to VISIT Orlando’s 2015 forms, the most recent year available, the group spent $24.3 million on advertising and promotion, $1.66 million on trips to market Orlando, $5.2 million on costs of attending or hosting meetings, and about $40,000 on lobbying.
According to last year’s budget, posted online by VISIT Orlando, 63 percent of its $82.4 million in revenue came from hotel taxes.