Area tourism sector off to good start

The area hospitality sector is off to a better start in 2011, with hospitality tax collections during the first quarter up in Fort Smith and Van Buren.

For the first three months of 2011, hospitality tax collections in Van Buren total $89,554, up 1.18% compared to the 2010 period. The city ended the quarter strong, with March tax collections at $33,820, up 7% compared to March 2010. Van Buren collects a 1% tax on lodging and a 1% tax on restaurants.

“So far this year, February was the only month we’ve seen a decline from last year and I attribute that to the winter weather events,” said Maryl Koeth, executive director of the Van Buren Advertising & Promotion Commission. “I think we are still seeing an improvement in the economy. Business travel is rebounding slightly which accounts for the almost 4% increase in lodging receipts. It will be interesting to see what gas prices do to leisure travel starting in April.”

For all of 2010, Van Buren hospitality tax collections totaled $395,195, down just 0.62% compared to 2009. For all of 2009, hospitality tax collections were 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.

Fort Smith hospitality tax collections during the first quarter total $160,680, up 2.9% compared to the 2010 period. Fort Smith also ended the quarter strong with March collections at $61,881, up 4.25% over March 2010 — and that’s with an estimated $3,000 remaining to be collected from one hotel. Fort Smith hospitality taxes are collected from a 3% tax on hotel room rates.

Claude Legris, executive director of the Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau, predicts April could be another good month for the area tourism and hospitality sector.

“April visitations at the (Miss Laura’s Visitors) Center have been up 11% and the National Historic Site numbers are up 38% year to date. We’re hoping the predictions of a drop in gas prices will serve us well for the summer months,” Legris said.

Hotel tax collections in Fort Smith during all of 2010 totaled $678,934, up 1.04% compared to 2009. During 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.

The March collections from Fort Smith and Van Buren fit with metro jobs data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the BLS, the Fort Smith metro leisure and hospitality sector employed an estimated 8,900 in March, up from 8,500 in February and up from the 8,600 employed in March 2010. However, sector employment is down 13.6% from a high of 9,800 in August 2008.

Arkansas’ 2% tourism collection garnered $1.342 million for the first two months of 2011, down 0.17% compared to the 2010 period. For all of 2010, the tax generated $11.492 million, up 0.99% compared to 2009. The collections were off the 2008 high of $12.005 million.