Orange County’s tourist-tax collections drifted slightly higher in October, the county announced Wednesday, totaling nearly $30 million.

That figure is up 0.6 percent or $68,100 from October 2023, though down $1.9 million from the October record, set during the pandemic bounceback year of 2022.

October is the first month of the county’s fiscal year. Orange County set an all-time record for Tourist Development Tax, or TDT, collections of about $360 million in the prior year. The funds come from a 6% surcharge added to the cost of a hotel room or other short-term lodging.

Because of its healthy tourism industry, Orange County enjoys a huge flow of hotel tax dollars, which by law it must spend on projects and programs to support the tourism industry. The county has been able to fund sports and entertainment facilities including Camping World Stadium and Kia Center with those dollars. A large portion also goes to Visit Orlando, the marketing agency for the region’s tourism agency, and to the county’s convention center.

Visit Orlando noted Wednesday that the county’s hotel occupancy rose by 2.3% to 71.9% in October but the average daily rate decreased 0.7% to $188.90. It attributed those numbers in part to Hurricane Milton, as the region’s hotels sheltered evacuees during the storm.

The agency projects hotel bookings to be on the rise in the holiday season into early next year.