20211130-B4: Hotel Occupancy Tax Use Recommendations — original pdf

Recommendation

BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Parks and Recreation Board Recommendation Number: 20211130-B4: Hotel Occupancy Tax Use Recommendations WHEREAS, the City of Austin Tourism Commission unanimously approved and recommended to Austin City Council a report from its Parks and Environment Working Group (“Parks and Environment Working Group”) on Hotel Occupancy Tax reviewing eligible projects, activities, and programs that can benefit parks and environment in our community; and WHEREAS, the Parks and Environment Working Group recommended project categories that can be funded with hotel occupancy taxes (“HOT Tax”) under Chapter 351, Texas Tax Code including: Tourism-promoting advertising, solicitations, and promotional programs; and 1) Cultural arts and commercial music; and 2) Visitor information centers; and 3) Historic restoration and preservation projects, activities, or programs for historic sites; and 4) Wayfinding signage; and 5) 6) Transportation Systems for Tourists WHEREAS, the City of Austin does not currently utilize hotel and occupancy tax to fund “visitor information centers,” “wayfinding signage”, and “transportation systems for tourists”; and WHEREAS, the Financial Committee finds that Austin Parks and Recreation facilities that serve tourists could benefit from additional funding through hotel and occupancy tax, and supports the recommendations of the Tourism Commission Parks and Environment Working Group which identify programs and projects which HOT Tax could be used for in the project categories of “tourism-promoting advertising, solicitations, and promotional programs”, “visitor information centers”, “wayfinding signage”, and “transportation systems for tourists”; and WHEREAS, the Financial Committee finds that “tourism-promoting advertising, solicitations, and promotional programs”, “wayfinding signage”, and “transportation systems for tourists” could be of particular value in enhancing the tourist experience at Zilker Metropolitan Park, Roy C. Guerrero Colorado River Metro Park, Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park, and John Treviño Jr. Metropolitan Park, and; WHEREAS, the Financial Committee also finds that visitor information centers are of value to enhancing the tourism experience but that whether an information center takes the form of an informational kiosk, virtual information, a building, or other format should be determined by the individual park’s Vision Plan; and