Pasco County to enchantment to global travelers
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — People to Pasco County will shortly fork out a little bit much more to continue to be there as the county performs to broaden its tourism marketing and advertising abroad.
What You Want To Know
- Pasco County will improve its tourism tax from four p.c to five p.c
- That applies to site visitors keeping at resorts, motels and shorter-time period rentals like Airbnb
- The further income will sector Florida’s Athletics Coastline, which is the identify utilised for Pasco’s tourism marketing and advertising
The county permitted an improve to the vacationer advancement tax of a single p.c. That will utilize to site visitors keeping at resorts, motels and shorter-time period rentals like Airbnb. The new tax fee is 5 p.c. The thought is to maintain these expenditures on travelers and not people.
The further income will sector Florida’s Athletics Coastline, which is the identify utilised for Pasco’s tourism marketing and advertising. It encourages Pasco’s out of doors points of interest and sporting activities venues.
The new income will particularly goal much more global site visitors.
“International site visitors, they continue to be more time. They invest much more funds,” stated Adam Thomas, director of Florida’s Athletics Coastline, in an job interview. “And they have many contact details. So we want to make Pasco County a practical vacation spot area for global site visitors.”
Pasco County will improve its vacationer tax, from four% to five%. This applies to men and women keeping in resorts, motels, and so on. The further funding will go to marketing and advertising @FLSportsCoast to global travelers. Director Adam Thomas clarifies: @BN9 pic.twitter.com/LtZaijWp7f
— Tim Wronka (@TimWronka) April 8, 2022
The tax improve is an additional signal of how Pasco tourism is rising. Capt. Wendy Longman is now celebrating twenty several years in organization of proudly owning and running Windsong Boat Rentals in New Port Richey. In all that time, she’s observed a good deal of expansion and a good deal much more site visitors.
“Years in the past, New Port Richey was ‘no area genuinely,’” Longman stated. “Now, we have this awesome renaissance of downtown, which is just gorgeous. I have the major fleet I have at any time experienced in my everyday living. I in no way imagined I’d expand this massive.”
That expansion is a single motive why Florida’s Athletics Coastline desired some much more cash for marketing and advertising abroad. It is a go Longman supports.
“As a organization operator, I feel it is a great point. It does not arrive out of our pockets. It is only for men and women keeping below,” Longman stated.
Many resorts, like the Hilton Backyard garden Inn and Home Inn close to the Suncoast Parkway, signed on in guidance of the improve as properly.
Caitlin Sullivan, the director of income at Hilton Backyard garden Inn, states it allows Pasco tourism contend with counties like Hillsborough and Pinellas, which have a tourism tax of 6 p.c.
“It’s a quite small improve. No motive we should not be on the identical degree as other counties close to us,” Sullivan stated.
Longman, who is also on the Pasco County Vacationer Progress Council, appears ahead to viewing how much Pasco tourism can go. She states the Florida Athletics Coastline attempts are previously operating.
There have been one.four million site visitors previous calendar year, a thirty p.c improve from 2019.
“We’re also this, like, concealed gem,” Longman stated. “With all these excellent parks and accessibility to the island. It is quite thrilling to feel what the long term retains for Pasco County.”
Previous calendar year, the county lifted $three.six million bucks from the tourism tax. The new improve need to deliver much more than $one million much more a calendar year.
The new tax will start off in June.
