While April's Dreamville Festival at Dorothea Dix Park didn't figure into last quarter's revenues, it's an example of booming visitor business in Raleigh. | Dreamville Fest/Twitter
While April's Dreamville Festival at Dorothea Dix Park didn't figure into last quarter's revenues, it's an example of booming visitor business in Raleigh. | Dreamville Fest/Twitter
The tax man in Raleigh is reaping great rewards. In the midst of inflation that has driven up the cost of goods and services, tax revenues have increased in tandem.
"We had record months in July, August and September for both occupancy tax and prepared food and beverage tax collections,” Visit Raleigh President and CEO Dennis Edwards told WRAL recently. “The sizable uptick in room nights sold (demand), and in turn hospitality tax collections YTD, illustrate the renewed desire to travel to Wake County for leisure activities like concerts and festivals along with meetings, conventions and sporting events.”
Hotel occupancy is up 19% from last year at this time, tourism officials said in the report. Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance have hosted 76 events in recent months, attracting more than 75,800 people to the area.
That indicates people are still spending money on leisure and entertainment activities, despite the greater costs that are being fueled by high inflation.
When it comes to generating more tax revenue, the next couple of months also look to be promising. Visit Raleigh and the sports group have 97 events booked for future dates, which should result in an estimated 96,400 room-nights for guests in Wake County. Those events are expected to draw a projected $68 million in economic impact.
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