It might be kind of hard to tell if you call Pinellas County home, but according to the records for the month of April, the county collected a record $3.14 million in bed tax revenue, a strong indicator of the amount of tourism in the area.
Bed tax is, essentially, the extra tax a county puts on hotel stays within their jurisdiction (in this case, all of Pinellas County). This allows the local government to raise taxes in their area without the increase affecting the voters who live there. This also allows the government to gain a general idea of the amount of tourism coming into visit-friendly areas like St. Pete and Clearwater Beach.
The $3.14 million Pinellas County collected over the month is a 9 percent increase over the same period last year when the county collected $2.9 million in bed tax revenue. It's also the first time ever bed tax revenue has breached the $3 million mark in April, but still hardly the monumental month March was for the county.
While the tax revenue slightly decreased in April, it's hard to believe it could go any other direction after March. During that month, the county collected an all-time monthly record of $4.5 million in bed tax revenue.
Through April, Pinellas County has collected a total $17.3 million in bed tax revenue since the beginning of the year, a 12 percent increase from the year before.
So, Pinellas County residents, how do you feel about this newfound increase? does it seem like there are more tourists than normal in your day-to-day lives? Let us know in the comments below.
