Lake County Innkeepers tax revenue is up by more than $269,000 so far this year, which tourism officials attribute to an increase in visitation.
The county brought in more than $1.4 million in hotel taxes through the end of May, according to the South Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"That's a huge increase," South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority Board President Andy Qunell said. "That's a big story."
Lake County brought in around $3.2 million in hotel tax revenue last year, with most of the revenue coming during the busy summer season.
"Our staff is the greatest staff in the tourism industry," Qunell said. "The staff is driving people to come here. They are promoting events."
Tourism has grown to a $1.24 billion a year industry in Lake County, the second most popular county in the state.
"We promote everybody's events," he said. "We promote Gary's events. We promote St. John's events. We promote Griffith's events, Hammond's events. We promote all the events wherever they may be. We promote all the events going on in Lake County. It's the work this staff does partnering with all the communities in Lake County that were able to drive those numbers."
Visitation has been increasing outside of the peak summer season, partly because of the SSCVA hosting a number of sporting events. Hotel tax revenue paid by visitors who stay overnight in Lake County jumped from $265,136 in March of last year to $367,275 this March.
"It's the marketing and it's the events. We're always bringing in more events. This board has been very supportive of getting those numbers up," Qunell said. "That means economic impact to this area. It's huge economic impact to this area. A hotel stays means they're going to spent dollar. It means they're going to Albanese, they're going to Byway Brewing, they're going to restaurants, they're going to Whoa Zone. That increase in hotel room tax is just the tax, it's not the full economic impact."
© Copyright 2024, nwitimes.com, Munster, IN