Arkansas Tourism Ticker: Tourism tax up more than 5% in first four months of 2019

BusinessLatest NewsTourism / Heritage

by Michael Tilley ([email protected]) August 6, 2019 11:41 am 585 views 

January-April hospitality tax collections among 17 cities surveyed for the Arkansas Tourism Ticker were up 3.9% compared with the same period in 2018, and the state’s 2% tourism tax revenue posted healthy growth of 5.2% in the four-month period.

Numbers from the first four months of 2019 are up against broad gains in 2018. Collections of Arkansas’ 2% tourism set a new record in 2018 and hospitality tax collections among 17 Arkansas cities surveyed for the Arkansas Tourism ticker topped the $50 million mark in 2018. The year marked the fourth consecutive year of growth as measured by the Arkansas Tourism Ticker.

The Arkansas Tourism Ticker is managed by Talk Business & Politics, and sponsored by the Arkansas Hospitality Association. The ticker uses the following three measurements to review the health of the state’s tourism industry.
• Hospitality tax collections – prepared food tax and lodging tax – of 17 Arkansas cities;
• Tourism sector employment numbers as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; and
• Collections of Arkansas’ 2% statewide tourism tax.

Results for the Jan.-April 2019 Tourism Ticker report are:
• 3.9% increase
Hospitality tax revenue in Jan.-April 2019 among 17 Arkansas cities reviewed for the Arkansas Tourism Ticker compared with the same period in 2018

• 5.2% increase
Collections of Arkansas’ 2% statewide tourism tax in Jan.-April 2019 compared with the same period in 2018

• 3.1% increase
Increase in monthly average of Arkansas’ tourism industry jobs in Jan.-April 2019 compared with the same period in 2018

The combined hospitality tax collections in the 17 cities totaled $17.129 million in Jan.-April 2019, up 3.9% compared with the $16.483 million in the same period in 2018. The combined hospitality tax collections in the 17 cities totaled $50.847 million in 2018, up 2.36% compared with the $49.319 million in 2017.

Monthly average tourism sector jobs in Jan.-April 2019 was 120,200, up 3.1% compared with 116,630 in the same period of 2018. The sector reached record monthly employment of 120,600 in November 2018.

Link here for a PDF of the complete Arkansas Tourism Ticker.