Business, consumer and economic tidbits from DNT reporter Candace Renalls. Click here to view previous posts or additional resources.
City's tourism tax coffers grow
Unemployment may yo-yo. The housing market may be sluggish. But at least one sector of the local economy is showing slow but sure improvement.
Tourism.
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Data released by the city of Duluth in recent days show tourism tax collections up 2.5 percent in May -- the most recent month available -- over May 2009. Moreover, revenues were up 4.5 percent over what the city had expected to bring in.
This continues a months-long trend of improvements.
So far this year, revenues from lodging, food and beverage taxes also are up a total of 4.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
Those tourism tax collections from January to May are putting $203,211 more in city coffers than the city had budgeted. That's about $2.6 million coming in instead of about $2.4 million.
It's not a staggering bonus. but it's a heck of a lot better than the 8 percent drop in revenues the city saw in the first five months of recession-plagued 2009, compared to 2008.
