In the Fort Worth City Council’s work session, there was a briefing on a possible Tourism Public Improvement District (TPID) by Bob Jameson of the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).
Tourism PIDs are non-contiguous property for districts comprised solely of hotels with 100 rooms or more and must be initiated by the hotel community. The primary focus is attracting conventions, group meetings and additional tourism.
PIDs are locally created districts that can be used to fund physical improvements or additional services in a defined area. Property owners pay a special annual assessment used to fund eligible PID expenditures.
The presentation showed the impact of tourism in Fort Worth includes:
*8.8 million visitors.
*$2.3 billion annual economic impact.
*$116 million in local tax revenues.
*$598 in taxes saved per Fort Worth household.
*22,500 hospitality jobs.
The goals of the TPID include:
*Increasing economic impact in conventions, meetings, leisure and sports tourism.
*Enhancing competitiveness in conventions, meetings, leisure and sports tourism.
*Increasing tourism-related economic activity at all times, including during economic downturns and as inventory grows.
The TPID would be overseen by a 16-member board, selected for staggered three-year terms. Board members would be selected from TPID participants.
The TPID would take a 2 percent assessment on hotel room revenues from Fort Worth hotels with 100 or more rooms.
Suggested benefits of the TPID include strong convention business increasing occupancy and rates in all hotels, greater awareness of Fort Worth as a tourism destination and increasing the duration of visitor stays, and the increased hotel occupancy tax could lead to improvements, such as the Convention Center and Will Rogers Coliseum.
The next steps are public hearings on Aug. 29, creation of PID assessment roll/service plan, council authorizing the CVB and new entity to manage, and begin assessment on Jan. 1.
The proposed term of the TPID is 10 years, and new hotels can be added during the term. After a decade, the TPID can be renewed or dissolved.