Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Photographer Shad Ramsey was on hand to capture the fun of the first Goosebump Jump in January 2020.
Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) revenues for the city of Granbury are inching closer to the $1 million mark – proof that tourism survived COVID-19 and is stronger than ever.
According to City Manager Chris Coffman, HOT gains topped $920,366 for the 2020-2021 fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2020-Sept. 30, 2021) – an “all-time high” for the city.
“That’s pretty awesome,” he said.
By law, HOT dollars must be used in ways that help promote tourism, putting more heads in beds at local lodging establishments.
Sales tax revenues, too, are looking good, Coffman indicated, with that income up 12% over last year’s.
Coffman made the announcements during a recent City Council meeting as he praised the efforts of Visit Granbury Director Tammy Dooley and her staff, which he called “a great group of people.”
Visit Granbury is the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. It promotes tourism, which is Granbury’s No. 1 industry.
“The hotel industry is very strong here, and we see that as a result of great marketing efforts by our tourism department,” Coffman stated.
Praise and encouragement of city employees recently became a fixture on City Council meeting agendas, and that’s why Coffman spoke about Dooley and her staff.
In his accolades for Dooley, who has been with the city for three years, Coffman noted a host of awards and achievements, for her personally and for Visit Granbury.
During Dooley’s tenure, Granbury has been named USA Today’s Best Historic Small Town in America for three consecutive years.
New events have been brought to town, including the outdoor Brian Clowdus production of “Sleepy Hollow,” which took place in September and October at the Dora Lee Langdon Center near the square.
The Langdon Center will also be the site of Clowdus’ “The Christmas Carol Experience” Dec. 2-30.
While making his remarks about Visit Granbury, Coffman stated that the square is “transforming” into an entertainment district, which generates more sales tax revenue.
He said that a study will be done to compare recent sales tax figures with numbers from past years to highlight “the vibrancy of the sales tax dollars.”
