TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — The Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau is on track for a record year for tourism sales tax revenue.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (http://bit.ly/NEh5s8) says figures release this week show that revenue has grown for seven of the eight months so far in this fiscal year.
March revenue, which is reported in May, grew 12.11 percent over March 2011. The city collected $339,748 for the month.
The revenue comes from a 2 percent tax on hotels, motels and restaurants. The Don’t Be Cruel BBQ Duel was among the events held in March and is being credited with helping to boost revenue.
For the fiscal year, the Convention and Visitors Bureau has collected $2,448,790, which is up 12.05 percent from this time frame in fiscal year 2011.
“We’ve had some good months,” said City Clerk Kim Hanna. “We’re expecting to exceed budget” for revenue.
For the year, the Convention and Visitors Bureau has $357,983 more in revenue than expenditures. It has a savings fund balance of $2.8 million.
The figures led board member Bruce Patel to suggest during a recent board meeting that it’s time to start spending money.
Neal McCoy, board chairman and executive director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the board will discuss spending plans at its July meeting and at the August retreat.
“We’ll spend it where we think it’s most valuable — ads, campaigns or products that will drive visitation,” McCoy said.
