07/19/2007: "SJVB Retains Tourism Funding"

The San Juan Visitors Bureau will continue as the contract holder to receive the proceeds from the County’s lodging tax money.

Other proposals seeking portions of the tax revenue for specific projects included the Whale Museum, the Westcott Bay Institute, and the NW Workforce Development Council. The council has held a number of discussions over the lasts year as to who, for what reason, and under what conditions should be awarded the money, but in the end the Council decided to accept the recommendation of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, and continue to contract with a single entity for overall promotion, rather than fund individual projects.

The money collected this year may exceed $350,000.00, and as a requirement of the contract, 15% of the contract total will be divided equally in subcontracts to the Chambers of Commerce in Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands.

The goal of the contract with the San Juan Visitors Bureau is to attract visitors to the San Juan Islands, with an emphasis on the “off-peak season”

Something new this year is a requirement that 5 percent of the money should be -it was not clear if it is “should” or “required”- to be spent on “innovative promotions.” Councilman Alan Lichter has been critical in the past of how the money has been awarded, but did join in with his fellow councilmen in voting for the contract, but not without raising the question of what might an “innovative promotion” look like.

As examples, the Council was told that the Visitors Bureau will be promoting: “Two Nation Vacation”, partnering with Sidney, Victoria and Vancouver Island; “Girlfriends Getaways”, to capture the attention of the growing number of women traveling in groups; and a “Bring Your Meeting to the Islands” campaign, targeting corporate, government and organization meetings and retreats on the island. The “Girlfriends Getaway” raised a few eyebrows on the councilmen, but no comments.
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The promotional fund represents half of the County’s 4% lodging tax. The tax is really two separate taxes, commonly called the “First 2%” and the “Second 2%”. The Second 2% was imposed for promotion at the recommendation of a tourism promotion study, and at the request of a majority of the business owners in San Juan County that are in the tourist related industry. The tax is passed on to the tourists in one form or another, and is not collected as a part of property taxes.

Those who supported it like to call it a “self-imposed tax”, but it was passed by the County, and not without some controversy at the time, and even now. One of the concerns is that some of the money should be used to deal with the impacts of the tourists that are attracted to the county. To that end, some of the money from the First 2% is to be used to both develop and maintain facilities and infrastructure, whereas the Second 2% was intended for promotion only.

Last year the promotional portion of the tax produced $373,813; however, as part of the County’s previous contracts with the San Juan Visitors Bureau, the contract amount was pegged at $350,000 for the past two years. This year the contract amount will be allowed to grow with the increase in tax revenue; and a portion of the increase may be used to establish a reserve fund. In past years the fund has had to borrow from other County funds to pay for advertising that must be purchased before tax revenue is received.