GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Hotels' July Performance Lukewarm

ORLANDO-The 115,000-room hospitality market in metro Orlando is holding up and not caving in despite a tourist slowdown and a gloomy economy, according to new July statistics from Hendersonville, TN-based Smith Travel Research.

Occupancy in the tourist submarkets of International Drive, East and West Kissimmee and Lake Buena Vista (Walt Disney World) are down from July 2000 but still in the mid-70% range, or about 10 points higher than the national average of 63.7% cited by the American hotel & Lodging Association.

Average daily room rates are down in the submarkets of North Orlando, East and West Kissimmee and Lake Buena Vista but up in the other four monitored markets.