June brings hope for area tourism industry

Tourism directors in Fort Smith and Van Buren are hoping June is the start of a trend, but aren’t yet ready to say the regional tourism industry will see gains in 2010.

June generated $34,626 in hospitality tax collections in Van Buren, up 2.85% compared to June 2009. For the first six months of 2010, Van Buren collections total $194,204, down 3.1% compared to the 2009 period. Van Buren collects a 1% tax on lodging and a 1% tax on restaurants.

“June tax receipts were almost 3% above June of last year and that is remarkable because this is the only month so far this year to move above 2009 numbers,” explained Maryl Koeth, executive director of the Van Buren Advertising and Promotion Commission. “There were two major events in our region in June, Wakarusa in Franklin County and the Jehovah’s Witnesses conference in Fort Smith. Wakarusa had limited impact on our hospitality businesses, but the Jehovah’s Witnesses had a major impact.”

Koeth estimated that the June gain is part of a “tiny trend” upward, but most is the result of traffic from the events.

For all of 2009, the city collected $381,372 in hospitality taxes, down 7.1% compared to 2008. Hospitality tax collections for Van Buren in 2008 totaled $410,914, up 7.4% over 2007 and up more than 14.5% over 2006.

In Fort Smith, June marked the second monthly gain — April being the other — for hospitality tax collections in Fort Smith. The June collections were $76,760, up 5.3% compared to June 2009.

Fort Smith hospitality tax collections for the first six months of 2010 are $347,519, down 3.5% compared to the same period of 2009. Fort Smith hospitality taxes are collected from a 3% tax on hotel room rates. The year-to-date decline is moving in the right direction. It was 5.6% for the first four months.

For 2009, Fort Smith hospitality tax collections totaled $671,912, down more than 16% from 2008. Fort Smith hospitality tax collections in 2008 totaled $803,591, 11% more than the $723,548 collected in 2007, and more than 19% above 2006 collections.

Claude Legris, executive director of the Fort Smith Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he has heard from several hotel managers that they are seeing a “marked increase” in transient traffic, or business other than corporate travelers.

“Do I think we are out of the woods? No. Is the anecdotal evidence sounding a lot better? Yes,” Legris said.

The top five most active hotels in Fort Smith, based on May tax collections are:
• Hampton Inn;
• Holiday Inn City Center;
• Courtyard by Marriott;
• Homewood Suites by Hilton; and,
• Holiday Inn Express.

STATEWIDE
Tourism tax collections, which help gauge the strength of visitors to the Natural State, are down 2.9% year-to-date compared to one year ago. Through May 2010, tourism taxes stood at $4.41 million. One year ago, those tax collections were $4.53 million.

June employment in the sector fell to 97,500 in June. The sector employed an estimated 98,300 in May, and is down 2.98% from 100,500 in June 2009. The sector reached an all-time employment high of 101,800 in August 2008, but has seen its numbers steadily fall since.