This Thursday + Friday, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) will host three public workshops as they begin crafting a 10-year strategic guide (the Tourism Management and Investment Plan to Develop Community Assets, or TMIP) for how a portion of the hotel occupancy tax in Asheville + Buncombe County will be spent locally. Meetings are Thursday from 12-2 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center Banquet Hall (87 Haywood St.) and 6-8 p.m. at the Arthur R. Edington Center (133 Livingston St.), and Friday from 9-11 a.m. at the Cellular Center Banquet Hall. Can’t make it? There’s also an online survey.

Hotels and tourism spending are a hot topic in Asheville, and we often get questions from our readers about what hotel tax dollars are spent on – and why. Today, we’re breaking down the hotel occupancy tax and looking at where the money goes.

Tourism by the numbers

Each year, Buncombe County sees approximately

11.1 million visitors including 3.9 million overnight guests
$1.9 billion in tourist spending
$2.9 billion in community economic impact from tourism
27,000 jobs are supported by visitor spending + the tourism industry in some way, with a total of $840 million paid in wages across many sectors.
$25 million in hotel occupancy taxes
Tax revenue from hotels does not go into the county or city’s general fund. Rather, dollars must be spent on destination promotion and tourism-related expenses (which could include infrastructure and environmental spending that increase visitors and lodging). Tax collection is managed locally. Only seven counties direct any tax revenue into their general fund – as required by their legislation.
At least two-thirds of tax revenue must go to destination promotion in N.C., and the rest may be used for tourism-related expenditures. In Buncombe County, three-fourths of tax revenue is required to go to destination promotion.

Enter the TDA

The hotel tax was ratified in 1983 by the N.C. legislature, when hoteliers voluntarily elected to tax themselves so that money would go towards promoting tourism in the state. All lodgings in the state are required to pay the tax. In Buncombe County, the hotel occupancy tax is managed locally by the Tourism Development Authority (TDA), an appointed group that also runs Explore Asheville, which leads efforts in sales, marketing + management in certain areas.
Their main goals are to drive tourism to the area by overseeing advertising campaigns and initiatives, and to support local community capital projects through Tourism Product Development Fund Grants.
The BCTDA has issued $44 million of these grants to 39 total recipients since 2001.
Currently, the hotel tax adds 6% to the 7% sales tax, for a total of 13% for each night visitors spend in a hotel in the county. Of that 6%, 1.5% funds the Tourism Product Development Fund. The other 4.5% must go to sales and marketing of Buncombe County and support of local businesses that drive tourism.
The TPDF is currently paused while the TDA creates their new 10-year plan, which will focus on meeting infrastructure + sustainability needs and effectively managing tourism with local input. Last year, recipients included Center for Craft, LEAF Global Arts Center, Enka Recreation Destination, the African-American Heritage and Cultural District + more.

The TDA’s meetings this week are part of a study by the consulting firm PGAV (funded by hotel tax revenue) as they craft their 10-year strategic guide. Goals include working collaboratively with the community to preserve and protect community character and the destination experience, develop + enhance destination assets, explore longer-term investment opportunities, sustain economic vitality in the area + more.

Want to share your thoughts on the TDA’s vision? Again, open meetings are tomorrow at the U.S. Cellular Center Banquet Hall and the Arthur R. Edington Center, and Friday at the U.S. Cellular Center Banquet Hall. Or, complete this survey.