Third-Party Investigation Commissioned by Disney is Finished, and the Results Are Staggering
A third-party investigation into the multi-faceted operations at the Walt Disney World Resort has finally concluded, and the findings are staggering.
On Tuesday morning, The Walt Disney Company released the findings from an investigation that took a deep dive into its impact in the state of Florida as the company continues to be at odds with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida State legislature over the state’s decision to take over the governing district for the resort, which was initially set up by Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney in the 1960s.
The findings, as compiled in a report by Oxford Economics–the entity responsible for carrying out an economic impact study related to Disney’s presence in the Sunshine State–are impressive, to say the least.
According to the report from Oxford Economics, which covered the company’s fiscal year 2022, Disney’s economic impact in Florida is $40.3 billion, and the Central Florida Disney Parks resort accounted for 263,000 jobs in the state. That’s more than three times the size of the actual workforce at the Walt Disney World Resort. While the investigation into Disney’s impact on the Florida economy attributed much of the resort’s impact to direct employment and spending, it also attributed it to indirect influences, which include supply chain and employees’ spending.
Jobs generated by Disney’s presence in the Sunshine State include Disney employees, as well as positions that were supported by guests’ spending that took place outside of Disney World’s property. Per the report, Disney directly accounts for 12.5% of the jobs in Central Florida or one in every eight jobs in the region. For every direct job at the resort, another 1.7 jobs are supported in the state of Florida.
The Oxford report also revealed the impact Disney World has on tax revenue in the state, as shared by Scott Gustin with Nexstar Media:
“The Oxford study, which was commissioned by Disney, also revealed Disney is responsible for $6.6 billion in tax revenue, including $3.1 billion in annual state and local tax revenue generated by Disney, visitors, employees, and third-party businesses,” Gustin reported in a post on X.
NEW: Walt Disney World generated $40.3 billion in economic impact across Florida and more than 250k direct/indirect jobs in fiscal year 2022, according to a new study from Oxford Economics.
Note: The results are from 2022 – prior to the appointment of the new Reedy Creek board. pic.twitter.com/EuRmuyyV1o
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) November 14, 2023
