Coastal Voices Guest Editorial: City’s poor tourism investment hurts us all

In explaining his opposition to city participation in local tourism promotion, Dennis stated that “We (city government) don’t benefit the most ... I’m not in favor of it.” I would remind Dennis that this is a nation where the government is supposed to serve the people, not the other way around where “government benefits the most.”

Dennis explained in the article that if a visiting family of four spends $500 during its stay in our community, the city gets “only” about $23 in sales tax and Transient Occupancy Tax. Continuing, Dennis complained that the rest of the $500 goes to the hotel, restaurants and retail shops.

In response, I remind him that the balance goes to the businesses that earned that money, with no help from the city if it does not fund tourism promotion.

The balance goes to the business owner and his family and to desk clerks, housekeepers, gardeners, grocery checkers, baggers, produce workers, butchers, security, janitors, waiters and waitresses, dishwashers, bar tenders, cleaning crews, gas jockeys, mechanics, drivers, insurance brokers and their families.

Beyond its important task of bringing tourists here, the Tourism Bureau plays a vital role in recruiting businesses to relocate to our area along with consequent improved consumer options and job creation. Add to that the stimulation of retiree relocation here with its low public services impact and the immigration of new dollars to our economy in the form of Social Security payments, retirement funds and new sales and property taxes.

Dennis said those businesses should contribute money to the Visitors Bureau. In fact, they do contribute. They contribute by paying their dues to the Chamber of Commerce, of which the Tourism Bureau is associated. They contribute by volunteering thousands of hours annually to community projects enhancing our destination value. They contribute by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in advertising their businesses and their community and an equal amount in printing flyers, brochures and coupons. They contribute by participating in programs to train their employees to upgrade local hospitality services.

The City Council allocated less than 6 percent of TOT collections to the very goose that lays its $900,000 golden TOT egg.

Geese die not only by the hunter’s shotgun or the butcher’s cleaver, but by starvation and neglect. Let’s look beyond short-term stop-gaps into a future of improved local economics and consequent betterment of our standard of living financed by tourist dollars.

Tourism is indeed the “greenest” of industries and is worthy of substantial investment by the City Council.

Aaron Funk runs the Kamp Klamath RV Park and FunBus Tours.