ORLANDO, Fla. — Local residents know all about the newest rides, theme parks, and water attractions in Central Florida, but tourism experts say that only scratches the surface.
Visit Orlando reported that the region broke records in 2025 with 76.7 million visitors in 2025 — a 1.8% increase over 2024.
But this year officials say they are thinking even bigger, with a focus that is not centered around just the theme parks. At visit Orlando’s Annual National Travel & Tourism Week event in May, a senior director for Tripadvisor said an expanded focus will help the region outdo the success seen last year.
“Travel in 2026 is all about committing to experiences,” said Adam Ochman, the senior director of Wanderlab at Tripadvisor. “They’re seeking moments of authentic connection to culture, to the outdoors, and to the people and activities that make destinations come alive.”
At the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Hotel, general manager Majed Farah said that with everything the area has to offer, it’s no wonder that visitors have been booking rooms there for more than 42 years.
“Beautiful city. Easy to move around,” Farah said. “There are a lot of entertainment, a lot of things to do. Everybody wants to be here.”
Farah said his organization shares Visit Orlando’s vision, and is making experiences a big focus going forward.
“We hear it all the time that we are coming just for a staycation and being here,” Farah said. “And we could see it even more in our restaurant that they come all the time. They are, we are part of this local community.”
From the moment guests arrive at the hotel, they get a warm welcome from a local celebrity, the hotel’s lobby ambassador, Merlot, a red, green and blue long-tailed macaw.
Just steps from Merlot’s perch sits an iconic restaurant which compliments the experience with the Michelin-recommended Four Flamingos, by nationally recognized chef Richard Blais.
“Orlando has it all,” Blais said. “It has all of the big-city type of restaurants that a New York or a San Francisco or Chicago would have. But it’s also got a lot of, like, local soul and flair.”
Many who visit the Florida-inspired restaurant to enjoy its tropical ingredients and coastal classics, say eating there is a culinary adventure.
“Orlando is just not a city for the U.S. — I mean, it’s an international city,” Blais said. “So that’s reflected in the cuisine. It’s incredibly diverse.”
Restaurants located inside hotels, like Four Flamingos, have been working to in communities to let locals know they can be a dining option, even if they’re not staying at the hotel.
“We want to be good neighbors. We want to be part of this community,” Farah said. “Like joining the Windermere Wine and Dine events. They are a part of us, and we are part of them.”
For the people who aren’t looking for thrills, characters, and water, the City Beautiful offers shows to attract anyone. Dinner shows have been in Central Florida for decades, but now some new tricks are popping up. At the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, “The Magic Show” presented by America’s Got Talent finalist Drew Thomas welcomes people from all over the world on weekend nights for an up close experience.
“This is something really unique, in that you sit very up close to all of this,” Thomas said of the show. “We do these grand illusions. That’s what people talk about the most — is that there’s under 100 people who are exclusively invited to be a part of this, and then, bam, they’re experiencing magic literally an arm’s reach away.”
The experience may be located in a hotel, but audiences aren’t limited to people with a hotel key card.
“One of the greatest things that we all take away from this as performers is hearing how the audience responds to it,” Thomas said. “Because it is extremely powerful magic done up close and in person.”
Although Orlando is far from being the Las Vegas strip, leaders with Visit Orlando say it offers way more than theme parks, and they hope locals know that and experience more what offerings in their own backyard have to offer.
Massiel Leyva
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