Buddy Dyer is Orlando’s longest-serving mayor. He has strived to make the city a place to live, work, learn and play
Involved in politics for nearly three decades, Buddy Dyer is popular among his constituents.
He was representative for the Florida Senate between 1992 and 2002, including three years serving as Senate Democratic leader. Now in his 15th year as mayor of Orlando – having been re-elected to the position four times since taking charge – the theme park capital continues to thrive as the US’s most popular tourist destination.
“Tourism is the single most important piece of our economic pie,” Dyer tells Attractions Management. “People around the world know Orlando. If they think of Disney or Universal, they think of Orlando. It’s a fantastic brand.”
In 2016, Orlando welcomed a record 66 million visitors. Of those, 5.5 million were international and 60.5 million were from the US, driven largely by the area’s theme parks, with Orlando boasting six of the 10 most visited parks in the world.
“The market continues to increase in volume and our attractions continue to renew their offering,” he says. “They’re in the business of not just finding first-time visitors, but attracting returning tourists.”
Dyer says major operators such as Disney and Universal are excellent “corporate citizens”, with taxes helping to generate further revenue sources for Orlando. “One in every three jobs here is related to tourism. Universal is the largest employer and largest taxpayer within the city limits, and Disney is the largest single-site employer in the country,” he says.
“I interact with them on a daily basis on things that involve the greater community or the greater region – one, for instance, being the tourist development tax.”
The tax, which applies to all of Orange County, Florida, is a bed tax charged at 6 cents for every dollar earned. That tax generates $260m a year for Orlando. When the city built its three new venues in the Downtown area – the performing arts centre, the Amway Centre and the Camping World Stadium – about half of the $1.2bn capital investment was generated through the tourism development tax.
“We continue to improve our tourism infrastructure, which in turn benefits Orlando even more. Tourism has been extremely good to us in terms of supporting community assets. Tourism doesn’t just support tourism, it supports everything.”
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Industry Opinion: Waterparks
More water leisure operators are investing in becoming more accessible, writes WWA's Aleatha Ezra
Industry Opinion: Zoos & Aquariums
Species survival expert Bill Robichaud shares the trials of the saola and what zoos are doing to save this near-extinct creature
Interview: Bob White
Bob White, COO of Village Roadshow, on
weathering a dip in attendance and keeping
his eyes on investment and expansion
Inclusivity: Open to All
Kath Hudson reports on some inspiring
initiatives to help include people who
face physical, social or economic
obstacles to visiting attractions
Heritage: Lofty Ideals
Westminster Abbey is getting an attic
conversion of sorts. We found out more
Waterparks: Under the Weather
Meet the team who helped bring
Epic Waters to fruition – an undercover
Texas waterpark on an epic scale
Profile: Andreas Andersen
IAAPA’s new chair Andreas Andersen sat
down with Tom Anstey to talk about industry
growth, sustainability – and queueing
Theme Parks: Think Big
Liseberg CEO Andreas Andersen reveals
details of the park’s €200m expansion
Themed design: The Story Builders
Disney’s Joe Rohde and Scott Trowbridge
and Universal’s Thierry Coup reveal the
secrets of their trade – well, some of them!
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Buddy Dyer is Orlando’s longest-serving mayor. He has strived to make the city a place to live, work, learn and play
Involved in politics for nearly three decades, Buddy Dyer is popular among his constituents.
He was representative for the Florida Senate between 1992 and 2002, including three years serving as Senate Democratic leader. Now in his 15th year as mayor of Orlando – having been re-elected to the position four times since taking charge – the theme park capital continues to thrive as the US’s most popular tourist destination.
“Tourism is the single most important piece of our economic pie,” Dyer tells Attractions Management. “People around the world know Orlando. If they think of Disney or Universal, they think of Orlando. It’s a fantastic brand.”
In 2016, Orlando welcomed a record 66 million visitors. Of those, 5.5 million were international and 60.5 million were from the US, driven largely by the area’s theme parks, with Orlando boasting six of the 10 most visited parks in the world.
“The market continues to increase in volume and our attractions continue to renew their offering,” he says. “They’re in the business of not just finding first-time visitors, but attracting returning tourists.”
Dyer says major operators such as Disney and Universal are excellent “corporate citizens”, with taxes helping to generate further revenue sources for Orlando. “One in every three jobs here is related to tourism. Universal is the largest employer and largest taxpayer within the city limits, and Disney is the largest single-site employer in the country,” he says.
“I interact with them on a daily basis on things that involve the greater community or the greater region – one, for instance, being the tourist development tax.”
The tax, which applies to all of Orange County, Florida, is a bed tax charged at 6 cents for every dollar earned. That tax generates $260m a year for Orlando. When the city built its three new venues in the Downtown area – the performing arts centre, the Amway Centre and the Camping World Stadium – about half of the $1.2bn capital investment was generated through the tourism development tax.
“We continue to improve our tourism infrastructure, which in turn benefits Orlando even more. Tourism has been extremely good to us in terms of supporting community assets. Tourism doesn’t just support tourism, it supports everything.”
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Industry Opinion: Waterparks
More water leisure operators are investing in becoming more accessible, writes WWA's Aleatha Ezra
Industry Opinion: Zoos & Aquariums
Species survival expert Bill Robichaud shares the trials of the saola and what zoos are doing to save this near-extinct creature
Interview: Bob White
Bob White, COO of Village Roadshow, on
weathering a dip in attendance and keeping
his eyes on investment and expansion
Inclusivity: Open to All
Kath Hudson reports on some inspiring
initiatives to help include people who
face physical, social or economic
obstacles to visiting attractions
Heritage: Lofty Ideals
Westminster Abbey is getting an attic
conversion of sorts. We found out more
Waterparks: Under the Weather
Meet the team who helped bring
Epic Waters to fruition – an undercover
Texas waterpark on an epic scale
Profile: Andreas Andersen
IAAPA’s new chair Andreas Andersen sat
down with Tom Anstey to talk about industry
growth, sustainability – and queueing
Theme Parks: Think Big
Liseberg CEO Andreas Andersen reveals
details of the park’s €200m expansion
Themed design: The Story Builders
Disney’s Joe Rohde and Scott Trowbridge
and Universal’s Thierry Coup reveal the
secrets of their trade – well, some of them!
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
marocMaroc Since its creation in 2007, MarocMaroc has invited the world to explore Moroccan beauty through a u [more...]
