THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 20, 1995 TAG: 9510200555
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Despite a late-summer scare from Hurricane Felix and his blowhard friends, tourist tax revenues are up in the first eight months of 1995 compared with the same period in 1994.
August occupancy tax revenues, however, are down 12 percent, while food and beverage receipts declined more than 8 percent.
A decline in tourism after the evacuation for Felix is blamed for the August drop after a booming summer. However, the director of the Dare County Tourist Bureau said he is confident the agency will meet its budget projections for the fiscal year.
In the first eight months of 1994, the county collected more than $1.6 million in food, beverage and occupancy taxes. During the same period this year, tourism brought in nearly $1.8 million.
The 4 percent occupancy tax is levied by the county on hotel and motel rooms, cottage rentals and home rentals of less than a three-month duration.
The food and beverage tax is a 1 percent levy on purchases at restaurants and lounges.
Twenty-five percent of occupancy revenues go to the Dare County Tourist Bureau. The remainder is disbursed based on property tax valuation to Dare County and the towns of Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Manteo and Southern Shores.
Felix, a storm that threatened the North Carolina and Virginia coasts before turning away, forced the evacuation of the Dare Outer Banks at the peak of the tourist season, Tourist Bureau Executive Director Gene O'Bleness said. Felix cost businesses $5 million per day during the three-day evacuation.
``Hurricane Felix fell on Aug. 16, 17 and 18,'' O'Bleness said Thursday. ``We are attributing that decline to the Weather Channel andother national media talking about hurricanes being lined up like airplanes on a runway. That kept people away.''
However, the projected revenues for the tourist bureau are still on pace to meet budget projections for its fiscal year, which began July 1, 1995.
``Our projected receipts for the fiscal year were $1,350,567,'' O'Bleness said. ``Our receipts as of the end of September were $859,545. We feel we'll recover from August.''
Hurricanes may have been the driving factor in the decline, but John Bone, director of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, said that a downward trend was noticed before Felix and friends lined up to tease the North Carolina coast.
``A lot of it depends on when the figures were reported,'' he said. ``Some of this may have been reported before Felix. If so, that's scary. But the storm certainly had an impact.''
Bone said visitation was down in September. However, though figures are not yet available, the forecast for this month is upbeat.
``September was slow, largely because of the storms,'' Bone said. ``But I think we'll have a good October.''
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FELIX ECONOMIC IMPACT TOURISM by CNB