Bed tax collections up 7% in August

LARGO — Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, a destination marketing organization, says its tourist development tax, or bed tax, collections totaled more than $3.5 million in August 2017, an increase of 7.1% year-over-year.

The DMO's 2016-2017 financial year collections have reached $51.5 million with one month left (a year-to-date increase of 10.6%), well ahead of last year's record-setting 12-month total of $49.5 million.

Additionally, the agency reported that the amount of bed tax collected increased by 42% between financial year 2011-12 and financial year 2015-16. According to a press release, the performance helped Pinellas County become one of six “high-impact” tourism counties in Florida, which allows the bed tax rate to be increased to 6%.

“We're a forward-facing organization promoting and protecting the number one employer in Pinellas County, which is tourism,” states David Downing, president and CEO of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, in the release.

“At the end of the day all our operations, initiatives, promotions and marketing are designed to increase the economic footprint of the local tourism industry, thereby protecting, promoting and growing jobs for the residents of Pinellas County.”

Visit St. Pete/Clearwater also reported improvements in several other tourism and visitation metrics, including revenue per room, which rose from $126.29 in 2016 to $131.93, an increase of 4.5%. The region's occupancy rate was up slightly, rising from 82.1% in 2016 to 82.4% in 2017, good for an increase of 0.4%.