ORLANDO, Fla. — A newly released Orange County audit revealed serious concerns about how local tourism marketing agency visits manage millions of management at public tourism funds.
The audit highlights inadequate accounting practices, unapproved lobbying, suspicious costs, and lack of adequate return on investment (ROI) analysis. Specifically, the report alleges that visitors misuse around $380,000 in the county Tourism Development Tax (TDT). It aims to promote tourism for public funds collected through hotels and short-term accommodation taxes.
Important findings
Among suspicious spending:
The 2023 NCAA March Madnest Tournament spent $20,600 on two Skyboxes at Kia Center. Only 8 of the 48 participants were potential clients. The rest were staff, members, or elected officials. $12,210 was spent on CEO CASSANDRA MATEJ’s automotive allowance. The audit found no evidence of approval from the board or county manager, if necessary. $6,000 was paid to attend an exhibition that employees had never attended. The agency was only recovered half of the cost. $6,500 from the TDT fund was used for personal refrigerators and other office decorations. The $2,500 was directed at personal items such as orange sneakers, Christmas sweaters and tuxedos.
The report also points out that visitors’ 2023 budget was $114 million, of which $105 million (92%) came from TDT revenue. The agency received about 30% of the total revenues of TDTs collected by the county that year. In comparison, it visits Florida, the state’s tourism agency, and operates on a $80 million budget.
Audit response
Visit Orlando issued a statement that the audits focus primarily on reclassifying accounting. Some of these include tax credits from the COVID era that are not attributable to hotel taxes. The organization has already implemented many recommended changes, highlighting its collaboration with the county to clarify the fund’s classification.
Secretary’s recommendations
The audit recommends visiting Orlando to refund at least $3.54 million to your TDT account and identify misclassified private funds. An additional $996,100 from advertising revenue could also be qualified, potentially increasing the total refund to $4.54 million.
This report calls for stronger financial transparency, especially since private funds are not subject to the same restrictions, unlike TDT revenue. It also encourages you to visit Orlando to develop a clear policy for ROI measurement, particularly for out-of-state events.
One such event is a $75,000 dinner in New York City, promoting Orlando Restaurant CAPA at a Michelin media event. The Secretary questioned whether it had sufficient benefits to Orange County. Visit Orlando retorted that the dinner created a media value of $5.7 million and introduced the area’s culinary offerings.
Unapproved lobbying claim
The audit also claims to have visited Orlando, where he was engaged in lobbying without the county’s permission. CEO Matej cited his involvement in efforts to influence laws regarding the use of TDT. He visited Orlando and said he refused to lobby and simply attended an educational event supporting Florida’s tourism industry.
Seeking action
Orange County Commissioner Mera Uribe responded promptly to the audit and called for a special meeting. In a letter to the board, she said the findings exceeded her expectations, citing “serious misallocation of public funds” and “a systematic obstruction of meaningful board oversight.”
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings refused to convene a special meeting and said at the board meeting on August 26th that Visit Orlando was already planning to offer an annual update. Demings ensured that the agenda was shortened to allow for a thorough discussion of the audit results.
The audit has led to an increasing call for reform, oversight and accountability on how public tourism dollars are managed in Orange County.
Visit Orlando CEO CASSANDRA MATEJ continues to support destination marketing organizations despite her board of directors and many key players in Orlando’s tourism industry revealing an audit in Orlando Business Journal that revealed concerns about millions of spending on the Tourism Development Tax Fund.
“I actually got a call of support and encouragement,” Mateji said. “They believe we are a well-run organization.”
