DC Room Tax Returns Indicate Strong First Half

Door County’s room tax returns were up 4.7 percent through the first five months of 2010, according to figures released by the Door County Tourism Zone Commission.

The year-to-date number is expected to rise once late payments from May are included. Returns in May showed a 0.8 percent decline, but after late collections come in, May is expected to show a significant increase over 2009 as well. June returns will not be in until mid-August.

The increase in lodging revenues doesn’t necessarily mean tourism spending is increasing. Last year, room tax returns were down just 0.5 percent from 2008 to 2009, but sales tax returns dropped nearly 9 percent, and when the Wisconsin Department of Tourism released its annual report on tourism expenditures, it reported that tourism-related expenditures in Door County were down 11 percent.

In other words, people came to Door County last year, but they didn’t spend as much in restaurants and stores.

The Door County Tourism Zone oversees the collection of a 5.5 percent room tax applied to lodging in all 19 Door County municipalities. The tax took effect in some municipalities beginning in May, 2007, and expanded to all communities