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CFHLA Endorsed Candidate wins
City of Orlando District 3 Runoff
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We are excited to announce that the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association’s PAC endorsed candidate, Roger Chapin, won his Orlando City Council, District 3 race with over 51% of the vote in the runoff election that was held on Tuesday, December 9, 2025.
With Roger’s victory, CFHLA achieved an 83% success rate with 5 of 6 endorsed candidates winning their respective races throughout the year.
We congratulate Commissioner Chapin and we look forward to working with the Mayor and all City of Orlando Commissioners to support the tourism and hospitality industry in Central Florida!
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Governmental Affairs Committee Meets Osceola County Commission, District 4 Candidate
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Last week, the CFHLA Governmental Affairs Committee held its December meeting at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. Thank you Dan Giordano, Vice President of Corporate Planning & Development, Rosen Hotels & Resorts and and Martin Bonaventure, General Manager for hosting us!
CFHLA thanks Osceola County Commission, District 4 candidate, Reverend Mary Lee Downey for her time and we appreciate her for sharing her vision for the future Osceola County. This was a great opportunity to discuss a variety of issues and priorities that are important to the Central Florida hospitality industry.
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2024: A Record-Breaking Year for Florida’s Tourism Industry
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VISIT FLORIDA recently released its 2024 Economic Impact of Tourism Study, revealing record-breaking economic contributions to Floridians from the state’s tourism industry. New data confirm that travel and tourism generated $133.6 billion in economic impact in 2024 and saved Florida’s 9+ million households nearly $2,000 each in taxes.
Out-of-state visitors to Florida spent $134.9 billion last year, a 3.0% increase over 2023. Americans accounted for $120.1 billion of that total, and international visitors contributed $14.8 billion. For every dollar spent by a visitor, 99 cents remained in Florida.
Tourism continued to support Florida’s workforce and tax base in monumental ways. The industry backed 1.8 million jobs in 2024 and generated $79.9 billion in wages. Tourism-related activity produced $33.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.
2024 VISIT FLORIDA Economic & Fiscal Impact of Tourism in Florida Report Highlights:
- Tourism in 2024 broke records at 143 million visitors.
- Visitor spending by out-of-state travelers increased by 3.0% in 2024, reaching $134.9 billion.
- The Travel & Tourism sector accounted for 7.8% of Florida’s Nominal Gross State Product (GSP), contributing $133.6 billion to the state’s economy in 2024.
- For every $1 spent by a visitor, 99 cents stayed in Florida’s economy, with 59 cents supporting worker salaries. This is up from 97 cents of every dollar being retained in the Florida economy in 2023.
- Taxes generated by travel and tourism in Florida grew 3.3% in 2024, reaching $33.6 billion.
- Without tourism, Florida households would pay $1,730 more annually in state and local taxes alone to sustain current levels of revenue.
- Tourism-supported employment in Florida grew by 1.8% in 2024, reaching 1.8 million jobs.
- Tourism-supported wages totaled $79.9 billion, including $44 billion in direct wages. This represents a 4.6% year-over-year growth from 2023.
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Preparing for the 2026 Legislative Session – Committee Weeks 5 & 6
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The last two committee weeks of the 2026 Legislative Session were held in December, and both were relatively quiet, outside of the movement of several property tax proposals.
Four major property tax proposals advanced through the House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday, December 2, signaling the House's leading approaches to statewide tax relief this session. These measures now stand as the most prominent contenders among the property tax reforms under consideration. The Senate has yet to produce any of their own recommendations.
Meanwhile, political attention is intensifying around potential mid-decade congressional redistricting, with Senate leaders urging caution and the House signaling urgency ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
During the final committee week, Gov. DeSantis unveiled a proposed $117 billion budget for Florida’s 2026–27 fiscal year, about $2.2 billion above the current budget, featuring pay increased per-student K–12 funding and $300 million set aside to help fiscally constrained counties offset potential revenue losses from proposed property tax cuts. The plan comes as the House advanced one of the residential property tax bills through its final committee stop in the Ways & Means Committee, HJR 209, which would exempt $200,000 of homestead value from non-school taxes, provided the home is insured. Separately, the House Commerce Committee approved HB 197, requiring all private employers to use the federal E-Verify system, expanding an existing mandate and sending the proposal to the full House for consideration.
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Legislative Meetings happening across Central Florida show strong support for tourism priorities
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For the past several weeks, our CFHLA team has been meeting with several members of the Central Florida Legislative Delegation to provide CFHLA’s 2026 Legislative Priorities and discuss how we can work with each of them to advocate for the tourism and hospitality industry during the upcoming Legislative Session.
Thank you to each of following members of the Central Florida Legislative Delegation for their time including:
- Orange County
- Senator Keith Truenow
- Senator LaVon Bracy Davis
- Representative Johanna Lopez
- Representative Rita Harris
- Representative Leonard Spencer
- Representative RaShon Young
- Osceola County
- Senator Kristen Arrington
- Representative Jose Alvarez
- Seminole County
◦ Senate President Pro Tempore Jason Brodeur
- Lake County
◦ Representative Taylor Yarkosky
◦ Representative Nan Cobb
We are proud that each of these members is in full support of our legislative priorities and of the Central Florida tourism and hospitality industry! CFHLA will continue to monitor developments and stay in close contact with our Central Florida delegation as Session progresses. We also look forward to meeting with our legislators again during the upcoming 2026 Tourism Days in Tallahassee.
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The Florida State University System: Preparing Tomorrow's Talent Today
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This week, CFHLA was invited to join our partner GrayRobinson for Community Leader Forum series luncheon, featuring Florida Board of Governors Chancellor Ray Rodrigues as the guest speaker. The Chancellor shared insights on the performance of Florida’s colleges and universities compared to national trends and outcomes, noting that Florida’s higher education system continues to outperform many states and national averages.
In attendance included CFHLA President and CEO Robert Agrusa, Director of Industry Relations and Community Impact Melanie Anesh, and Government Affairs Manager Zack Brodersen who engaged with the Chancellor on opportunities to designate hospitality degrees as Programs of Strategic Emphasis. Such designation would increase funding for colleges and universities offering these programs.
CFHLA looks forward to continuing its collaboration with the Board of Governors and the Florida State University System to advance this goal and ensure future hospitality and tourism leaders have the resources needed to succeed.
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About CFHLA
6675 Westwood Blvd #210, Orlando, FL 32821
The mission of the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association is to represent the Central Florida Hospitality Industry, by setting the standard of excellence through advocacy, collaboration, education, recognition, and service.
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