They love you out there, Clallam County.
With receipts from the hotel/motel room tax totaled, Port Angeles’ take from out-of-town tourists climbed 4.3 percent to $448,242 for 2005.
Forks’ receipts from the tax rose 4.7 percent to $129,966, and unincorporated Clallam County’s share rose almost 14 percent to $331,191.
In Sequim, happy host to construction workers during its building boom, proceeds were up nearly 19 percent to $129,966.
Port Angeles’ share of the 2 percent tax went to the Chamber of Commerce, where Executive Director Russ Veenema said it translated to $11.2 million in room revenue and an estimated $30 million in visitor spending.
“The Chamber of Commerce is able to say that 2005 was a record year for room-tax collections for the city,” Veenema said.
He credited off-season events, television advertising and Web site visits for the increase.
Clallam County’s room-tax portion goes mostly to the North Olympic Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau. Kristi Agren, its director of tourism and marketing, outlined some highlights of how it spent the money.
Not all the news from the tourism front was positive, however.
Port Townsend’s room-tax receipts fell to $325,412, a drop of almost 8 percent. Jefferson County’s share was off 3 percent at $267,028.
