Gentlemen (Dear Commissioners, November 14, 2012) | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Concerning the November 13, 2012 meeting of the Beaufort County Commissioners and the request for a study on the impact of tourism in Beaufort County, the data to date seems to make little or no sense and the various sources do not even confirm each other's findings.

    In August 2012 the US Travel Association (USTA) released their estimate that tourists spent $70,400,000 in Beaufort County during 2011.

    The underlying methodology supporting their estimate was not released, but Beaufort County leaders can try to gain some perspective by placing the USTA numbers in context:

    ....this would be $193,000 in tourist spending on every single day of the year. If for the sake of argument, there were as many as 500 tourists, which seems like a great deal of traffic, in town each day, then each of them would be spending $386 per person per day. Where?

    In October 2012, the North Carolina Department of Commerce (NCDOT) reported that Beaufort County's 6% hotel occupancy tax generated $239,000 in gross revenue in 2010-11.

    ....$239,000 represents 6% of $3,983,333 in total hotel and motel charges.

    .....A brief survey of three Washington NC motels, taken in November 2012, found an average room rate of about $75 per night, i.e., $50, $70, $115.

    .....This indicates that roughly 53,100 room days were accounted for throughout 2011 or 145 rooms per night. If there were two visitors in every single room then the USTA estimates would imply each of the 290 daily visitors spent $665 per day. Where?

    Finally, if $70,400,000 in tourist dollars were spent generally throughout the county and $4,000,000 was spent in room accommodations, then it can be argued that something like $66,500,000 was spent in other businesses. Where?

    $70,400,000 is 140% of the county's budget. It is $1450 per every man woman and child in Beaufort County. The number seems improbable in a county where good rooms can be had for $125 and good restaurants charge $20 for a meal.

    My point is that various development interests have either been mislead or have attempted to mislead taxpayers with faulty or padded and trumped up studies concerning the place of industrial parks, ethanol plants and industry ready buildings in the past. Hopefully, this time the public will be given enough day light and time to read and critique any study of tourism before we see our tax dollars poured into an ill thought out plan for development of further special interests projects.