Resort-tax revenue shows strong turnaround
Whitefish resort-tax collections for the last quarter of 2010 indicate a dramatic economic rebound in the resort town.
Fourth-quarter revenue from Whitefish’s 2 percent tax on lodging, restaurants/bars and luxury retail items was up 20.3 percent over the same period in 2009, according to data compiled by the city of Whitefish.
December resort-tax revenue was up a whopping 22 percent over December 2009, with the biggest upswing from increased activity at restaurants and bars. Tax revenue collected from bars and restaurants was $70,881 in December, compared to $45,090 in December 2009.
Resort-tax collections from lodging and retail goods also were up in December, though not by as wide a margin. Lodging facilities paid $14,380 in resort tax in December, compared to just $9,602 in December 2009; retail stores contributed $98,404, compared to $96,087 in December 2009.
The strong fourth-quarter numbers come on the heels of a very busy summer in Whitefish, too.
The upswing started in June when motels and restaurants were busier than in June 2009. By July resort-tax collections across the board were up 12 percent from the previous July, followed by a 10 percent increase in August collections and a 5 percent increase in September.
Whitefish’s wildly successful inaugural Oktoberfest no doubt contributed to an 18 percent increase in October resort-tax collections over October 2009. November was even stronger, with a 20 percent rise in collections.
Collections for all of calendar year 2010 totaled just over $1.7 million, which puts Whitefish back to pre-recession revenue levels. In 2007, the last strong year before the recession hit, $1.7 million was collected in resort-tax revenue.
Whitefish took a hit when the recession went full tilt in the fall of 2008. By July 2009 resort-tax collections were down 29 percent from July 2008.
Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Director Kevin Gartland said he witnessed a very busy fall, though he’s a bit perplexed why the November resort-tax numbers were as good as they were.
“With the ski season and weather projections [for ample snowfall], a lot of people were here early in the season,” Gartland said about the upswing in December activity.
Gartland noted that visitor traffic continued to be strong in Whitefish even after Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier Park closed in mid-September. He said the Oktoberfest filled an extra 300 hotel rooms. “That’s a sizable bump,” he said.
“We hope this is a good sign of things to come,” Gartland said.
Jan Metzmaker, director of the Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau, said she believes the increase in resort-tax revenue plays off a combination of factors. Glacier National Park’s centennial clearly boosted visitor numbers throughout the summer and fall tourist seasons, and Canadian visitor traffic has been strong.
“If the exchange rate is good, they [Canadian tourists] come, and right now it’s good,” Metzmaker said. “The Canadian market is the icing on the cake.”
Metzmaker also believes the bureau’s consistent marketing efforts in places such as Seattle, Minneapolis and Portland continue to pay off for the resort town.
“We’ve been putting extra effort into marketing in Portland,” Metzmaker noted. “People in Portland like our product.”
The bureau works with Amtrak and the state tourism bureau to leverage marketing dollars. Metzmaker credited the bureau’s board of directors for its progressive approach to marketing.
“They’re good thinkers,” she said.
Roughly two-thirds of the revenue from the resort tax is used for street reconstruction. Twenty-five percent of the revenue goes to property-tax rebates for city residents; 5 percent is used for parks and the remaining 5 percent for administration.
Since the 2 percent resort tax was imposed in February 1996, the city has collected $18.8 million. Currently, resort-tax revenue is being used for the reconstruction of Central Avenue and some downtown side streets.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.