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Summer tourism stats shining brightly

Summer is here in downtown Durango with events happening just about every weekend and the tourists filling our shops. As we get into the busy part of the year, the Durango Business Improvement District, or BID, has taken a look at recently released sales-tax figures to see how 2015 has started for merchants downtown and on north Main Avenue.

Sales tax is collected monthly from every business in Durango by the city. The city releases reports on collections that, when compared with prior years are an indicator of how things are going. The reports are released monthly, and are for sales in the previous month. For example, the report labeled April 2015 is for sales made in March 2015.

Year-to-date reports through April 2015 show sales-tax collections are up 4.6 percent in the entire city compared with the same months in 2014. For the Central Business District, BID’s analysis shows sales-tax collections have increased by 7.4 percent. North Durango also experienced an increase of 3.1 percent.

The largest industries by sales-tax collections through April are grocery and drug stores, with 18 percent of the total collected year to date; department, clothing and shoe stores, with 17 percent; restaurants and taverns, with 13 percent; and miscellaneous retail with 10 percent.

Anyone can access these city reports by visiting DurangoGov.org, click on Government, then on Budget & Financial Reports, then Sales Tax & Lodgers Tax, then on SIC & Area Reports.

Let’s hope that summer continues this good start through the year.

H H H

On a different subject, to stimulate sales, BID is continuing its special-event grant program this year, including new, added funding from the city of Durango. Events selected are required to use the grant funds on out-of-area promotion. Funds granted to-date total $30,500 to the Autumn Arts Festival; Durango Bluegrass Meltdown; Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering; Durango Film, An Independent Film Festival; Durango Motor Expo; Durango Running Club for multiple running events; Durango Wine Experience, Noel Night and Music in the Mountains.

Attendance at these events is expected to be nearly 40,000, and 16,000, or 40 percent, are anticipated to be from out of town. If each visitor spends $200 in Durango during their stay, that equates to $3.2 million in total economic impact. Learn more about BID’s grant program at downtowndurango.org/bid-grants.

H H H

The next monthly BID Coffee & Conversation is set for from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. June 12 in the First National Bank of Durango downstairs conference room. Free coffee and pastries are provided courtesy of the bank. Further information is at www.downtowndurango.org.

timw@downtowndurango.org. Tim Walsworth is executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District.



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