Final stats won’t be available for a few weeks, but Emporia could see an increase in its transient guest tax over last year.
That’s the thought from Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Susan Rathke, who joined KVOE’s Morning Show this week with an update.
Year-to-date through November, transient guest tax receipts are up $9,000 or seven percent from 2018.
The city had its now-traditional slate of large-scale events, including the Glass Blown Open and Dirty Kanza, which now bring people from across the globe to Emporia. Another big draw was the combination of two brand-new events — the Halfway to Everywhere music festival and No Coast FIlm Festival.
Rathke says more people recognize Emporia as a welcoming place for sports, eating and shopping. Rathke also touted Emporia’s location between larger cities like Topeka, Lawrence, Wichita and Kansas City as a natural location for meetings and conventions.
The transient guest tax, also known as the bed tax, is generated through hotel stays and is used by the CVB to market Emporia in different ways across Kansas and several nearby states.
