New Orleans hotels will begin assessing an additional 1.75 percent tax on room rates in April to help pay for tourism marketing efforts worldwide and infrastructure improvements in the French Quarter.

The additional cash is estimated to double the  amount spent on advertising the city to vacationers.

Nola.com reports that the tourism industry accounts for an estimated 78,000 jobs in the New Orleans area. In 2012, the most recent year of available data, New Orleans reportedly attracted more than 9 million visitors who spent $6 billion in the city. Industry leaders have a goal of attracting 13 million visitors by 2018. The next visitor tally is expected to be released in March.

The Tourism Support Assessment, voted on in an independent referendum conducted by the Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association, received the support of 95 percent of the votes cast in a balloting period that ended Feb. 21.

Read the entire article at The New Orleans Advocate.

Related Posts