The Columbus tourism industry had a very good year in 2015. In fact, it was pretty much the best year ever.
Leaders at Experience Columbus announced yesterday afternoon that the organization tallied up a grand total of $40 million in hotel bed tax collections for the year. The increase was due to increases in hotel occupancy, revenue per available room, and average daily rate. Additionally, the total number of visitors to Columbus has grown to nearly 38 million per year, as the city hosted more conventions and sports events in 2015 than ever before.
“This is an exciting milestone for our community,” said Experience Columbus president and CEO Brian Ross. “The additional funds from the bed tax have enabled us to increase our national sales and marketing efforts. This has allowed our team to be even more competitive and win bigger conventions, tradeshows and sporting events.”
Over the past three years, the hotel bed tax revenue has grown by nearly $6 million, which helps to fund Experience Columbus, the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) and the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, as well as other social services and affordable housing initiatives.
“Columbus’ arts and cultural organizations are grateful for the outstanding marketing efforts of Experience Columbus— efforts that are bringing more visitors than ever to our city,” said Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of GCAC. “More revenue from tourism means an increasingly vibrant arts and cultural landscape for our city — which means life in Columbus keeps getting better for residents and visitors alike.”
For more information, visit www.experiencecolumbus.com.
