From Deseret News archives:
S.L. County tourism booms
2005 was a stellar year, gains in car-rental and hotel taxes show
In particular, revenues from the county's transient room tax on hotels are projected to peak at $8.3 million for 2005, up nearly 20 percent from 2000 and closing in on the $9 million record high of the Olympics in 2002, according to Lance Brown of the county auditor's office.
At the same time, room occupancy in Salt Lake County has gone up nearly 7 percent since 2004, with a 71 percent occupancy rate this year.
That steady stream of visitors sets Salt Lake County apart from many areas that suffered record lows in hotel occupancies after 9/11, Beck said. The world spotlight on Salt Lake during the Olympics was a major factor in that resilience, Beck added, drawing attention to the area that is still driving tourism numbers.
"The Olympics from a destination perspective really put Salt Lake on the top shelf of people's minds," he said. "It wasn't there before, and there was a definite boost from the Olympics."
"That definitely translates into the valley. It's one of the indicators that the word is starting to get out," he said.
In addition to hotel revenues, Brown said the county is also hopeful that increasing revenues from the car rental tax mean out-of-state tourists are beginning to recuperate to pre-Sept. 11 levels. Those tax revenues dipped after 2001, hitting a low in 2004 of $7.38 million, but are now climbing again with a projected high in 2006 of $8.4 million.
"Restaurant and transient room tax did not suffer like car rental did. It's good to see that industry finally recovering," Brown said.
For Beck, that recovery is a sign that business travelers are once again coming to Salt Lake an indicator that Salt Lake is a corporate destination and families are also vacationing in Salt Lake for extended stays.
Comments
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