NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — If you're traveling to Niagara County, and staying in a hotel, you'll have to continue to pay a bed tax.
The Niagara County Legislature voted recently to extend the agreement with Destination Niagara USA for another three years.
Niagara County currently collects 5% bed tax on all hotel rooms outside of Niagara Falls and Lockport. Both Niagara Falls and Lockport collect their own bed tax.
“The Niagara County Legislature believes Destination Niagara USA has been instrumental in bringing tourist dollars and capital investment to our community, and been very successful in reinvigorating our tourist sector following the pandemic,” said Niagara County Manager Rick Updegrove, who sits on the Destination Niagara USA Board of Directors.
“This is a continuation of the agreement that has been in place since 2003 when the county Department of Tourism and the Niagara Falls Convention Bureau merged to create one entity to run tourism promotion.”
Destination Niagara USA CEO John Percy said tourism spending reached $831 million in 2021, which is an increase of 9% since before the pandemic.
More than $52 million in local taxed were generated in 2021 and 21% of Niagara County's workforce is employed in the tourism industry.
“Tourism has a major impact on the economic prosperity of the region, and we appreciate the support of Niagara County as the team at Destination Niagara USA remains committed to promoting the destination and expanding visitation throughout the county,” Percy said.
So where does the money from the bed tax go? According to Niagara County, 95% of the first four percent of the bed tax goes to Destination Niagara USA, the marketing organization for the county. The remaining one percent goes to the Discover Niagara Shuttle. Niagara County keeps 5% for administrative expenses.
RELATED VIDEO:
