The Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council is working on a proposal of a bed tax in the Kenai Peninsula Borough to keep up with tourism marketing in places like Mat-Su, Fairbanks, and Anchorage.
Executive Director of KPTMC, Shanon Hamrick made a presentation about the importance of marketing Kenai Peninsula tourism and the Marketing Council’s work.
Hamrick:”In 2009 we did an outside study, so we had an independent company come in and look at the return on investment that the borough gets from KPTMC and those numbers came back at $4.50 was returned in sales tax dollars to the borough for every dollar they invested with us.”
Currently KPTMC receives $300,000 in funding from the Borough each year for their marketing program however that funding has been contingent on trying to find a different source of sustainable funding. KPTMC would request a portion of the proposed bed tax revenue to replace the current funding by the Borough.
Hamrick said the Kenai Peninsula needs to be more competitive with other tourism markets.
Hamrick: “I think the most important information that people need to understand is that the Kenai is not competitive with the rest of Alaska. We are the only place in the entire state that does not have a mechanism in place to invest in growing our tourism industry.”
And with 1 of 13 Alaskan jobs in the tourism market, Hamrick encouraged people to understand the proposed bed tax before just voting down another tax.
Hamrick: “Every sales tax dollar that comes in from an outside visitor rather than a resident can help augment the money that needs to come from taxes from our residents. So sales tax from visitors keep our property taxes low, they help with our public services, our schools and we want to bring more of that outside money into the Kenai.”
The proposed bed tax would be voted on by Borough residents if the Assembly adopts it.