The York County Convention & Visitors Bureau, DBA Explore York, and the York County Board of Commissioners announced today the approval of a new three-year agreement that will ensure local hotel room tax revenues continue to support York County tourism-related efforts.
Both boards approved the new three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which outlines and governs how the net proceeds from the county’s local 5% hotel room tax are spent. The new MOU replaces a similar agreement that had previously existed since 2016 between the county and Explore York.
Under this agreement, Explore York is responsible for ensuring room tax dollars are spent on tourism-related efforts and the county’s tourism partners and initiatives, including the York Expo Center.
“For those of us who live and work here, it’s no surprise that York County has become one of the state’s most popular tourist destinations,” said York County President Commissioner Julie Wheeler. “Our goal with this agreement is to spread that word far and wide, so that more and more people will know that York County is truly one of Pennsylvania’s best kept secrets – a great place to live, work, play, and visit.”
“This partnership is another milestone in our efforts to foster sustainable tourism growth and ensure a mutual benefit for our community and visitors alike,” said Laura Wagner, President of Explore York. “We continue to see rebounding growth to pre-COVID numbers. Visitors already spend $1 billion here annually. We look forward to enriching our destination and creating memorable experiences for our visitors.”
In total, Explore York will retain 55% of the net revenues from the hotel tax for administrative, operational, and marketing expenses. The MOU designates 14% of net revenues to the York County Agricultural Society, which operates the York Expo Center.
In addition, the MOU provides for continued support of several York County based marketing and tourism-related initiatives and organizations. These include the York County History Center, York County Rail Trail Authority, Downtown Inc, Cultural Alliance of York County, Main Street Hanover, and Hanover Chamber of Commerce, among others.
With a goal of expanding the benefits of the tax revenues more widely, the county and Explore York also agreed to distribute 31% of the total net proceeds to the York County Tourism Grant Program, which will fund initiatives deemed capable of generating broad and substantial benefit to the local tourism economy. For more information about the Tourism Grant Program, including how to apply, visit yorkpa.org/grants.
“The Explore York Board of Directors endorsed this agreement to ensure continued economic impact for York County. This was a group effort in which all parties involved should be applauded for their commitment to our local tourism economy,” said Dan Johnson, Explore York Board Chair.
The continued mission of Explore York is to draw visitors to York County, Pennsylvania from outside a 50-mile radius to experience all the ways they can have it made here.
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