Should Del Mar enact a Tourism Business Improvement District?
Del Mar, Ca — “Happy Happens!” So goes the new ad campaign launched by San Diego in an attempt to reign in a greater amount of tourism commerce. The San Diego campaign is becoming increasingly more common as local cities enact funding destination marketing known as Tourism Business Improvement Districts. The movement largely began in 1992 when the city of West Hollywood began a 1.5% tax of gross room rental revenue to raise an annual $1.1. million for tourism promotion. Cities including Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Diego have enacted such measures in order to compete with tourism destinations around the world. The tax differs from the Tourism Occupancy Tax (TOT) Del Mar and other cities already has in place in that it gears specifically with promotion. The TOT is created largely to help mitigate damage from tourism and protect local resources for local residents. The TOT largely aids in the repair of transportation resources. The San Diego TBID fee is estimated to bring in $29.2
