The collection of accommodations taxes, generally paid by nonresident visitors, has become a well-accepted means of raising tax revenues in tourism communities. This article looks at small communities and counties across the State of South Carolina to determine categories of use that may provide local governments their best return on their expenditure of these funds. The findings, decidedly exploratory in nature, suggest that the use of accommodation tax funds for the promotion of the arts, cultural events, and other tourism-related events is a successful strategy, enabling tourism growth (as measured by growth in the accommodations sector) while hopefully fueling a virtuous cycle that yields still greater tourism dollars for the community.
Aguiló, E., A. Riera, and J. Rosselló (2005). “The Short-Term Price Effect of a Tourist Tax through a Dynamic Demand Model: The Case of the Balearic Islands.”Tourism Management, 26(3): 359-365.
2.
Blackwell, C., J. C. Crotts, S. W. Litvin, and A. Styles (2006). “Local Government Compliance with Earmarked Tax Regulation.”Public Finance Review, 34(2): 212-228.
3.
Blanton, K., and A. Caffrey (2004). “Convention Bust May Reach $50m.”Boston Globe, May 22, A1-A1.
4.
Bonham, C., E. Fujii, E. Im, and J. Mak (1992). “The Impact of the Hotel Room Tax: An Interrupted Time Series Approach.”National Tax Journal, 45(4): 433-442.
5.
Bryman, A., and D. Cramer (1997). Qualitative Data Analysis. London: Routledge.
6.
Buchanan, J. M. (1963). “The Economics of Earmarked Taxes.”Journal of Political Economy, 715: 457-469.
7.
Carlton, J. (2002). “Winter Olympics 2002: Lake Effects.”Wall Street Journal, eastern ed., February 13, A10-A10.
8.
Combs, J. P., and B. W. Elledge (1979). “Effects of a Room Tax on Resort Hotels/Motels.”National Tax Journal, 32(2): 201-207.
9.
Crompton, J. L., and S. L. McKay (1997). “Motives of Visitors Attending Festival Events.”Annals of Tourism Research, 24(2): 425-439.
10.
Crotts, J. C., C. Blackwell, S. W. Litvin, and A. Styles (2003). Local Government Use of State Accommodation Tax Revenues. Monograph prepared for the South Carolina Department of Revenue and the South Carolina Tourism Expenditure Review Committee. Charleston, SC: College of Charleston Office of Tourism Analysis.
11.
Dwyer, L., R. Mellor, N. Mistilis, and T. Mules (2000). “A Framework for Assessing ‘Tangible’ and ‘Intangible’ Impacts of Events and Conventions.”Event Management, 6(3): 175-189.
12.
Fujii, E., M. Khaled, and J. Mak (1985). “The Exportability of Hotel Occupancy and Other Tourist Taxes.”National Tax Journal, 38(2): 169-177.
13.
Getz, D. (1989). “Special Events: Defining the Product.”International Journal of Tourism Management, 10(2): 125-137.
14.
Getz, D. (1991). Festivals, Special Events, and Tourism. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
15.
Getz, D. (1997). Event Management and Event Tourism, Elmsford, NY: Cognizant Communications.
16.
Goldblatt, J., and K. S. Nelson (2001). The International Dictionary of Event Management. 2nd ed.New York: John Wiley.
17.
Gursoy, D., K. Kim, and M. Uysal (2004). “Perceived Impacts and Special Events by Organizers: An Extension and Validation.”Tourism Management, 25(2): 171-181.
18.
Hall, C. M. (1992). Hallmark Tourist Events. London: Belhaven.
19.
Hall, C. M. (1994). Tourism and Politics, Policy, Power and Place. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
20.
Healey, J. F. (1993). Statistics: A Tool for Social Research. 3rd ed.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
21.
Herzberg, F. (2003). “One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?”Harvard Business Review, 81(1): 87-96.
22.
Hiemstra, S. J., and J. A. Ismail (1992). “Analysis of Room Taxes Levied on the Lodging Industry.”Journal of Travel Research, 31(1): 42-50.
23.
Hiemstra, S. J., and J. A. Ismail (1993). “Incidence of the Impact of Room Taxes on the Lodging Industry.”Journal of Travel Research, 31(4): 22-26.
24.
Hultkrantz, L. (1998). “Mega-Event Displacement of Visitors: The World Championship in Athletics, Göteberg 1995.”Festival Management & Event Tourism, 5(1): 1-8.
25.
Katz, J. (1989). “Penurious Strategies for Parsimonious Research: Little Guy Alternatives for ‘Big-Buck’ Research.”Journal of Business Venturing, 4: 361-366.
26.
Kitchen, H. M., and E. Slack (2003). “Special Study: New Finance Options for Municipal Governments.”Canadian Tax Journal, 51(6): 2216-2216.
27.
Kotler, P. (2000). Marketing Management: The Millennium Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
28.
Kotler, P., J. Bowen, and J. Makens (2003). Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism. 3rd ed.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
29.
Krohn, F. B., and Z. Uddin (1991). “Anatomy of an Occupancy Tax: Failure by Omission... an Application to Regional Tourism.”Journal of Professional Services Marketing, 7 (2): 183-190.
30.
Land, V. Q., and M. H. Alsikafi (1999). “A Lottery’s Impact on Instructional and Noninstructional Expenditures and Unrestricted Revenues for Education.”Journal of Education Finance, 252: 149-174.
31.
Lewis, R. C., and R. E. Chambers (2000). Marketing Leadership in Hospitality, Foundations and Practices. 2nd ed.New York: John Wiley.
32.
Mak, J. (1988). “Taxing Hotel Room Rentals in the U.S.”Journal of Travel Research, 27(1): 10-15.
33.
Middleton, V. T. C., and J. R. Clarke (2001). Marketing in Travel and Tourism. 3rd ed.Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
34.
Neiman, J. (1996). “Motel/Hotel Taxes for the Arts.”Public Management, 78(1): 24-24.
35.
Purdue, R. R. (1996). “Target Market Selection and Marketing Strategy: The Colorado Downhill Skiing Industry.”Journal of Travel Research, 34 (4): 39-46.
36.
Rivlin, A. M. (1989). “The Continuing Search for a Popular Tax.”American Economic Review, 792: 113-117.
37.
Song, H., and S. F. Witt (2000). Tourism Demand Modelling and Forecasting: Modern Econometric Approaches. Amsterdam: Pergamon.
38.
State of South Carolina Department of Revenue (1998). SC Revenue Ruling #98-22I. Columbia: South Carolina Department of Revenue.
39.
Styles, A. K., S. W. Litvin, J. C. Crotts, and C. Blackwell (2004). “Local Government Use of State Accommodation Tax Revenues.”Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 1(2): 111-118.
40.
Wilkinson, M. (1994). “Paying for Public Spending: Is There a Role for Earmarked Taxes?”Fiscal Studies, 154: 119-135.
41.
Withiam, G. (1993). “Higher Tax Rates = Lower Tax Revenues.”Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 34 (2): 10-10.
