
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991                   TAG: 9102140423
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                                LENGTH: Short

RAISE IN LODGING TAX SOUGHT TO HELP TOURISM

Hotel owners in this Atlantic Ocean resort city are seeking a financial boost following the first year-to-year decline in sales since the 1960s.

Virginia Beach hotel revenues were $109.5 million last year, a 3 1/2 percent decline from 1989, according to figures released Tuesday by the city's Convention and Visitor Development Department.

"We took a real beating last year in our close-in market with a lot of negative publicity," said Linwood Branch, president of the Virginia Beach Hotel and Motel Association.

Branch said his organization is asking the City Council to add a half percent to the city's 9 percent lodging tax to pay for promotional campaigns and special entertainment events to bring in more tourists.

- Associated Press

by CNB