Hotel Tax Shows July Tourism Strong

Vernon tourism officials admit to being a little surprised at the strong hotel tax figures generated by tourists this year.

Economic development and tourism manager Kevin Poole says the numbers in July set a new record for the month at over 112-thousand dollars.

He says that happened despite power boats not being allowed on local lakes due to flooding, and numerous days of wildfire smoke.

“Last year’s July was a record, and we surpassed that — by 1.8% — so it’s actually the second biggest month of collection that we’ve ever had, so we were a little surprised,” Poole tells Kiss FM.

He says the overall numbers this year are up 8%, with record totals in May, June and July.

“I’m really curious on how some of the retailers were impacted, especially in August with the smoky skies,” adds Poole.

The hotel tax is a 2 percent levy charged to hotel and motel guests since 2010, with the revenue used for tourism marketing.

Pictured: Kevin Poole, Vernon’s economic development and tourism manager