Byron Increases Hotel/Motel Tax With Plans of Boosting Tourism

BYRON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The city of Byron is planning on improving tourism in the area, and residents won’t have to pay a dime for it.

City council along with Byron’s Convention and Visitors Bureau agreed on passing an ordinance, hiking the hotel-motel tax in the city up one percent, that’ll raise it from five to six percent.

That’ll go toward putting up more billboards and outdoor advertising, to attract visitors to the city.

“Most people, when they travel, don’t have any idea what that tax goes to and they don’t call and say ‘What’s your hotel-motel tax?’ before stopping. But it is nice to have our hotel owners feel that we are still competitive when it comes to how much their rates are going to be,” Tiffany Peavy, the Executive Director of the Byron Convention and Visitors Bureau, said.

Officials say now the ordinance has to go the state level to get passed by the governor.

They’re hoping to see it pass by the middle of summer 2014.