Tax seen as boosting tourism

Visitors to S.A. could wind up paying to attract more of their kind to the Alamo City.

Staffer Joshua Fechter told us that hoteliers and tourism officials are pushing for the city to create a fee they see as necessary to keep the nearly $14 billion hospitality industry competitive.

To raise the cash, hotel guests would fork over an extra 1.25 percent on top of the exist- ing 16.8 percent on occupancy tax for stays in hotels and lodging facilities with more than 100 rooms.

It’s estimated that the fee would rake in $10 million during its first year.

The local Hotel and Lodging Association and Visit San Antonio — the nonprofit charged with promoting the city to travelers — want to see a “tourism public improvement dis- trict” created that would cover the entire city.

S.A. hotels have been losing ground in recent years to inns in Austin, Dallas and Houston. At the same time, the city’s budget for tourism marketing has stayed the same.

The San Antonio tourism industry reportedly employs 130,000 people.

Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News In 2010, S.A. controlled 11.3 percent of the Texas hotel market. By 2017, that figure had dropped to 10.1 percent.