Rising restaurant sales tax revenues and hotel occupancy rates in Columbus indicate more people are coming to the Friendly City.

Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Nancy Carpenter told The Dispatch restaurant sales tax collections hit a record high in May, bringing in more than $218,000, the highest recorded collection month since the CVB was founded in 1986.

Carpenter said the jump in sales, along with a near-10% increase in local hotel occupancy rates since May 2022, indicate that more people are coming to stay in Columbus to enjoy the more than 135 restaurants and many year-round events.

“Our latest tourism numbers tell us what we have known all along,” Carpenter said. “Columbus is a world-class destination for visitors from around the world.”

The restaurant sales is collected on 2 percent of prepared food and beverage sales at businesses located within the Columbus city limits where those sales are at least $100,000.

In Fiscal Year 2022, which ended Sept. 30, the restaurant tax collected more than $2 million. So far this year, it has collected more than $1.5 million, setting a pace to finish the fiscal year at better than $2.2 million.

While $700,000 of those collections is split between the city and county for recreation and $250,000 goes to the Golden Triangle Development LINK for industrial recruitment efforts, the rest provides the primary funding source for CVB’s advertising, sponsorship and efforts to generate tourism.

Often visitors to Columbus who need something to eat also need somewhere to stay.

Smith Travel Research, a hospitality analytics firm, reported that Columbus has 1,250 hotel rooms from about 16 different hotels. Those businesses report an average 37% to 60% occupancy rate in May, a 9.63% increase from May 2022.

CVB has also seen an uptick in sporting events at the Roger Short Soccer Complex since the season started earlier this year, and now local fishing competitions are becoming popular among out-of-towners, which boosts hotel stays, Carpenter said.

“We depend so much on other events like fishing tournaments, which drive huge numbers,” Carpenter said. “I would say, we’ve had a couple of fishing tournaments this year. I would say 80% to 90% of the people that come for those are out of town.”

Carpenter said that other summer activities also bring in hotel stays, boosting tourism. Events throughout the year include Market Street, Catfish in the Alley, the Juneteenth Festival and Fireworks on the Water. While less tourism-boosting than soccer or other sports, Carpenter said these still bring in hundreds of out-of-towners to eat and spend money in Columbus.

Beyond that, attractions like the downtown Riverwalk and the city’s historic homes bring in summer visitors, Carpenter said. The Tennessee Williams House Museum and Welcome Center and Spring Pilgrimage also draw out-of-towners, she said.

“I think that we have a draw that a lot of cities don’t have,” she said. “… We, the citizens of Columbus, see the negative things and our visitors really don’t. I mean, they’ll point out all of the good things. They point out how neatly our town is laid out, they point out the good restaurants, the fact that we have three historic districts.”

Carpenter said the county boasts 1,360 jobs related to the tourism and travel industry, making up 5% of non-farming jobs in Lowndes County.

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