Hotel tax revenue up, but not to pre-Ike levels

Galveston County business owners and tourism officials expected a spike in visitors for Labor Day weekend, the unofficial close of the summer tourist season.

Hotel tax revenues were up 28 percent from 2009 in Galveston but still 15 percent below 2008 — the summer before Hurricane Ike hit, Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau spokeswoman RoShelle Gaskins said.

Despite the disappointing numbers, Gaskins said the island fared well considering the economic recession and fears of oil washing ashore from BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill.

“When you consider the negative perception from the oil spill and the tough economy, we really did have a good summer here in Galveston,” Gaskins said.

Galveston reaped some benefits from Midwestern tourists who opted for island vacations instead of vacationing on the coast of Florida or Alabama, Gaskins said.

This weekend’s Brewmaster International Brew Festival will keep hotels booked. By Monday, 60 percent of the island’s hotels were booked, but people typically wait until the last minute to reserve a room, Gaskins said.

Visitors bureau officials in May traveled throughout Texas to express that Galveston was untouched by oil from BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill.

Traces of tar balls, which U.S. Coast Guard officials initially said originated from the spill, didn’t scare off tourists. Hotel occupancy remained at about 85 percent the weekend after tar balls and an oily substance washed ashore in early July, Galveston Chamber of Commerce President Gina Spagnola said.

In Kemah, more people visited the Boardwalk’s restaurants and hotels this year compared to last, and officials were expecting a busy Labor Day weekend, Keith Beitler, Landry’s Restaurants vice president and chief operating officer, said.

“This increase can be attributed to a better economy compared to last year and the renovations that were done to the property as a result of Hurricane Ike damage,” Beitler said.

Kemah’s sales tax revenue increased slightly over what officials had anticipated this year, though current revenue numbers were not available, City Administrator Bill Kerber said.

Hotel occupancy tax revenues decreased slightly compared to last summer, but Kerber said he hoped the recent opening of Holiday Inn, 805 Harris Ave., would help.

Hotels are nearly booked for the weekend, and all bed-and-breakfasts in town are full, Claire Worthington, vice president of the Kemah Merchants Association and founder of www.kemah.net, said.

“Everybody comes for the Boardwalk, but usually the Lighthouse District is able to benefit from the increased traffic,” Worthington said. “We have suffered in the past, but the visitors center’s emphasis on events has helped in the economic downturn.”

The Houston Texans will have the team’s annual season kickoff from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at the Boardwalk. Player appearances, live music and games are expected to draw a big crowd, Worthington said.

The Galveston Bay Foundation is having the organization’s Redfish Raft Up from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. About 150 boats will launch from Kemah and head to Redfish Island in the bay for food, drinks and live music.

Tourists already had begun to arrive by Friday, Domino Taylor, director of Kemah’s visitors center, said.

Rainy weather during the July 4 weekend kept fewer people from visiting Kemah. Taylor said she was counting on larger crowds during the summer’s last holiday.

“There are more tourists than I expected,” Taylor said. “I thought it would slow down after school started, but we’ve been overwhelmed with people calling this week trying to find a room at a bed-and-breakfast.”