Space Coast Office of Tourism Executive Director Peter Cranis Reports Record-Setting Tax Revenues

space coast tourist development tax collected for 2018-2019 set a record of $16.02 million

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The October 2019 tourist development tax revenue totals have been tabulated and the Space Coast had its best October in history.

The tourist development tax collection for October 2019 totaled $1,116,816, which was 16.1 percent more than October 2018’s collections.

The 5 percent tourism development tax is collected on hotels, motels, RV Parks, and short term home and condo rentals.

For the last fiscal year that ended September 30, the tourist development tax collected set a record of $16.02 million.

Peter Cranis, Executive Director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism said he is projecting a 3.6 percent increase in the tourism tax for fiscal 2019/2020.

Cranis took the helm of the TDO last March and has done a stellar job in making much-needed changes in operations and personnel.

Cranis said that his office is projecting collections of $16.6 million in tax collections for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which would be an increase of more than $590,000 over last year.

“We were 12.2 percent above our budget which is an incredible start to the year,” said Cranis.

“We had a bit of a tough September due to Hurricane Dorian negatively impacting the Labor Day Weekend so this is a nice recovery. The Office of Tourism ran a $100,000 campaign in October promoting “Our Coast is Clear” with messaging about the fact that the Space Coast was open for business.”

Cranis said the advertising ran in Florida drive markets including Orlando.

“We have a fairly aggressive budget this year, trying to reach $16.6 million, so starting out with being $121,000 over budget is a great kick-off,” Cranis added.

The office is funded through the tourism tax, which is then used to provide advertising and marketing for the region and to develop tourism-related programs.

Cranis said the largest tourist development tax expenditure is for advertising at 47 percent, followed by beach improvement at 25 percent, capital facilities improvement at 14 percent, Brevard Zoo at 5 percent, cultural events at 4 percent, Space Coast Stadium at 3 percent and visitor center maintenance at 2 percent.

The Brevard County Tourist Development Council was established to promote growth, development and quality of tourism on the Space Coast and consists of nine members appointed by the Brevard County Commission.

The TDC oversees the Tourist Development Tax (Resort Tax), a 5 percent tax on the total rental amount collected from every person or other party who rents, leases, or lets for consideration living quarters or accommodation in any hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort motel, apartment, apartment motel, rooming house, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park, or condominiums for a period of 6 months or less.

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