Background
Port Angeles’s Lodging Tax Fund is the primary source of City funding for activities, operations, and expenditures designed to increase tourism. The City does not make any multi-year commitments for tourism promotion services. However, service providers are not limited or prohibited from making annual requests of the same nature or subsequent phase.
The City intends to maintain a reserve in the Fund and will assess on an annual basis how much of the Fund to appropriate in a given year. The Port Angeles City Council has created a Lodging Tax Advisory Committee to conduct an annual process to solicit and recommend Lodging Tax funded services for City Council consideration. The City of Port Angeles will only consider proposals for use of the Lodging Tax Fund from public and non-profit agencies.
Who May Apply?
The 2023 Event grant applicants may be for profit entities with the demonstrated ability to achieve tourism goals as outlined below.
- Foster and maintain a healthy and diverse tourism sector that continues to thrive.
- Fully utilize and promote creative uses of existing facilities.
- Improve the quality of experience and relationships for tourist and residents while diminishing any negative impacts from tourism-related activities and traffic.
- Promote partnerships and increase tourism by concentrating on priorities identified by both residents and the tourism industry
- Focus on our unique Port Angeles assets that make us a premier destination for environmentally and fiscally sustainable recreation and tourism
- Encourage collaboration recognizing that Olympic Peninsula-based tourism supports and benefits all communities
As a result of State Legislative changes made in the 2013 session, all applications must include estimates of how funding the activity will result in increases to people staying overnight, travelling 50 miles or more, or coming from another state or country. To ensure this data is collected, the City is now required to have applicants provide additional information in the lodging tax application.
LTAX Event Grant Application and Questionnaire
LTAX Fund Non-Event Application Questionnaire
2023 Budget
The LTAC approved the following budget amounts on September 15, 2022 |
|---|
| Tourism Related Capital Facilities | $165,000 |
| Tourism Marketing | $191,000 |
| Tourism-related operations (available) | $117,100 |
| Tourism-related operations (fixed) | $176,800 |
| Event Grants | $ 76,000 |
| Committee Priorities | $ 38,200 |
Resources:
LTAX Fund Page
Vision, Goals and Priorities for Lodging Tax Funding Programs