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Tourism director reports $1.2 billion in visitor spending, outlines marketing and short-term rental plans
Summary
Orange County tourism director presented a quarterly report citing $1.2 billion in visitor spending, about 4.1 million visitors, expanded digital marketing efforts and preparations for state short-term rental registration and collection rules; the county’s film office also summarized recent productions and location activity.
Amanda Dania, Orange County tourism director, delivered a quarterly update describing tourism’s economic impact, marketing strategy and program work.
Dania and Rachel Carr, marketing lead, said county visitor spending is about $1.2 billion and that Orange County received approximately 4.1 million visitors (figure presented as the most recent available). Dania said bed-tax collection has steadily grown year over year except for the 2020 pandemic period; she highlighted retail and food and beverage as the largest visitor-spending sectors and reported that tourism supports roughly 11,700 jobs in hospitality and tourism.
The tourism office reported expanded digital advertising (Google display and search, streaming ads, social media), podcast partnerships, travel-show participation and cooperative promotions with neighboring Hudson Valley counties and private partners (including Woodbury Common). Staff said social channels nearly doubled last year — a cited growth figure was a 980.5% audience increase over the prior period — and that a streaming campaign in 2023 delivered about 3.4 million views in target demographics. Staff also noted receipt of two state marketing awards in the prior year.
Dania briefed the committee on new state short-term rental regulations. Staff said the county will manage a registry of short-term rental hosts (covering any online platform), that hosts will be required to register, and that the registry and collection program will provide an additional revenue source and increased transparency. County staff indicated they expect to retain the revenues collected locally but that additional personnel may be needed to operate the registry and compliance program.
The tourism film office provided an update on filming activity in the county. Staff listed recent and upcoming productions that used county locations or sound stages and said the county collected roughly $8,000 in location fees at the Orange County Jail last year and paid about $100,000 in production-related security compensation. Film office staff said they plan to expand outreach to production companies, enhance film resources on the county website and represent the county at industry events such as the American Film Market.
Committee members asked a few clarifying questions; no committee action was required for the update.
