TOURISM TALK: April Tourist Development Tax Numbers Strongest in Brevard County History

By  //  June 5, 2021

PETER CRANIS: Tourist Development Tax collections came in at $1.718 million in April

TDO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PETER CRANIS: The April Tourist Development Tax numbers have come in, and as expected, it exceeded April 2019 numbers 17 percent making it the strongest April in TDT history. The Tourist Development Tax year to date of $8.526 million is 38.6 percent ahead of budget ($6.150 million) and 3.1 percent ahead of the prior year ($8.271 million) which is the first time we are actually up over the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Tourist Development Tax year to date of $8.526 million is 38.6 percent ahead of budget

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The April Tourist Development Tax numbers have come in, and as expected, they exceeded April 2019 numbers by 17 percent making it the strongest April in TDT history.

The amount was $1.718 million vs. $1.468 million.

The Tourist Development Tax year to date of $8.526 million is 38.6 percent ahead of budget ($6.150 million) and 3.1 percent ahead of the prior year ($8.271 million) which is the first time we are actually up over the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Previously, we were comparing five COVID months to five pre-COVID months, but now with March and April being added, we are up over the prior year.

Comparing to the same October-April 2019-20 fiscal year ($9.483 million), we are still 10 percent behind, but gaining ground fast with five months to go in the budget year.

Hotels gained a little ground in April, making up 65 percent of the tax collections compared to 60 percent in March and in the 50s the months prior, but still lagging behind the prior year where it was 71 percent for 2020.

Hotels make up 60 percent of total tax collections year to date with condos/vacation rentals making up 37.5 percent. Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral represent 30 percent of the total TDT year to date and Melbourne and the Beaches represent 28.4 percent.

The big comparison of Spring 2021 to Spring 2019 is the real story. March and April 2019 were at $3.564 million compared to $3.646 million for 2021 – incredibly beating pre-COVID numbers by 2.3 percent, even without cruising happening.

The Spring marketing campaign with a $650,000 budget can be credited with some of this improvement, along with the vaccine and general willingness of the consumer market to travel after a year of being sequestered.

Now on to May which also looks to be one of the strongest May’s in history!

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