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A team that promotes the Bangor area to likely readers desires to establish a charge on lodge company to fund promoting endeavours aimed at drawing a greater share of Maine’s vacationer targeted traffic to the Queen Town.
Representatives from the Larger Bangor Conference and Website visitors Bureau introduced the notion of Bangor owning its own tourism advancement district to the Metropolis Council at a workshop Monday night.
Portland is considering a identical hard work, which would build a tourism improvement district that would levy a fee on lodge company and direct the funds to advertising and advertising the town for upcoming travelers.
“Maine tourism continues to increase and, in spite of two very tough many years for the hospitality field, it genuinely rebounded in a major way,” explained Austin Muchemore, the typical supervisor and vice president of the Hollywood On line casino and a member of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.
The bureau, which set up Gretchen Chauncey as its new government director very last 7 days, is underfunded with its recent $160,000 once-a-year finances, even as state tourism ticks up next an initial pandemic lull, Muchemore stated.
Lodges would pay back an evaluating fee that would look on guests’ bills. The metropolis govt would collect the profits and route it again to the bureau, which would take care of the tourism improvement district, managing the marketing endeavours. Muchemore believed that the new cost would increase about $1 million for the Greater Bangor Conference and Website visitors Bureau, which would current market on behalf of hoteliers to carry in people.
Tourism enhancement districts deliver a 2.1 percent boost in demand for resort rooms, and increase 4.5 p.c profits improves for hotels, on ordinary, according to exploration Muchemore cited.
The $1 million estimate is based mostly on the metropolis levying a 2 percent gross area receipt tax, he reported. The tourism bureau would deal with the district, and a committee of regional resort operators would offer oversight. Bangor city federal government would give remaining acceptance for the energy to launch.
About 28 resorts in Bangor would be qualified to be section of the district, and 21 have indicated their help, Muchemore claimed. Numerous cities in states like California, Montana and Washington have equivalent districts.
Metropolis Councilor Jonathan Sprague claimed that there were other companies during Bangor that market the town, like the Bangor Global Airport and the Downtown Bangor Partnership.
“And all those are just the kinds I know about,” Sprague stated. “How is everybody going to function together, rather than independently?”
Muchemore reported that the tourism advancement district would current an prospect for these functions to function alongside one another.
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