Marion County Tourism Council Takes Up HITS Winter Circuit and Angus Beef Summit Funding Oct. 22; Bed-Tax Collections Run 3% Behind

The Marion County Tourist Development Council meets Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, at 9 a.m. at the Visitors and Convention Bureau (the agenda lists the Tourist Development Conference Room, and the bureau is at 109 W. Silver Springs Blvd.). The agenda includes funding requests for three events that bring overnight visitors to Marion County this winter, along with the latest tourist tax numbers, according to the council's agenda packet.

Digitally generated illustration of a hunter-jumper fence. Not a photo of a HITS show.

Three Funding Requests

The council's room-night program reimburses events per verified hotel room night. In January through March the rate is $5 per room night, capped at $10,000 per event. All three requests below are for the maximum or the staff-eligible amount, and the council's votes are recommendations to the county commission.

• HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, Weeks I-III (Jan. 20 to Feb. 7, 2027): $10,000 requested and recommended by staff, at HITS Post Time Farm. The application guarantees at least 2,000 room nights and projects 2,796 participants and 3,105 total attendance, with an estimated $3.2 million in total business sales.


• HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, Weeks IV-VII (Feb. 10 to March 7, 2027): $10,000 requested and recommended, with 3,725 projected participants, 4,150 total attendance and an estimated $5.6 million in total business sales. The application says Week 6, the Ocala Masters, will be a National/Level 6 show.


• Certified Angus Beef Foodservice Leaders Summit (Feb. 14 to 19, 2027): $5,315 requested at World Equestrian Center, a new event with no prior funding. The application projects 330 participants and at least 1,063 room nights, and the county's sales report lists the same Feb. 14 to 19 dates.

The sales figures are the applicants' and the county's own impact estimates, not results. For the show season, see our HITS Ocala guide, Ocala horse shows and the World Equestrian Center schedule.

Tourist Tax Collections

The county's collections table for fiscal year 2025-26, covering the Oct. 2025 through Sept. 2026 reporting periods, totals $5,969,638.65, compared with $6,160,510.84 a year earlier. That is $190,872.19, or about 3.1%, lower. September's reporting period came in at $373,128.60, up $23,351.51 from the same month a year earlier.

Minutes of the council's September meeting add context from the county's tourism staff: for the 12 months through the August reporting period, collections were $5,946,287.14, down 3.54% from the prior year; August occupancy was 49.6%, up 3.8% year over year, with an average daily rate of $99.93. For the 12 months, occupancy was down 6.2%, the average daily rate down 7.4% and revenue per available room down 13.1%. The county's tax collector's office reported 1,627 short-term rental accounts.

Other Events in the Sales Pipeline

The same minutes list events the visitors bureau is working on: the Big South Classic high school boys basketball tournament, Dec. 27 to 31, 2026, at the new South Marion High School with 16 teams, and the Babe Ruth 13U World Series, Aug. 5 to 14, 2027, at the Rotary Sportsplex, with an estimated 1,000 room nights. For lodging near these venues, see our Ocala hotels guide and Rotary Sportsplex page. On Oct. 20 the county commission is also asked to approve the council's recommendation of up to $63,000 for room-night events and $17,567.57 in marketing assistance reimbursements.

Sources: Marion County Tourist Development Council agenda packet, Oct. 22, 2026 (funding applications, collections table and September minutes); Marion County Board of County Commissioners agenda, Oct. 20, 2026. Checked Oct. 17, 2026.