As the 2009 summer tourism season begins to slip into memory, a recently adopted optional tourism charge in Bigfork is still trying to take shape.
Business owners designed the “Bigfork Enhancement Contribution” as a 1-percent voluntary assessment that is added on to customers’ bills. It was created as a way to raise money to promote tourism in Bigfork.
Cheryl Richmond, owner of the Sleeping Bear Lodge, implemented the voluntary tax this summer, receiving no resistance from tourists. Only a few hotel owners took part this summer, Richmond said.
“It’s really a trial and error period right now,” Richmond said.
Bigfork business owners can choose to be involved with the assessment, participating either by charging the extra 1 percent or by paying a flat annual fee of $250.
As a member of the committee currently addressing the assessment, Richmond said it is yet to be seen how much money has been raised so far and if the program will actually take flight. The committee will meet to send out letters to business owners who didn’t participate this summer because they were expecting a specific signal to start.
“There was a lot of miscommunication,” Richmond said.
The assessment began on June 1, after it was determined that Bigfork could not obtain a tourism sales tax for the area. Richmond said this program could work for Bigfork because the tourists should be the ones paying the extra charges. If it works out, Richmond said the money could go toward paying a public relations firm to promote Bigfork’s tourism.
A similar charge is already at work in Whitefish, called the Tourism Promotion Assessment.
The next step for Bigfork is creating a new committee made of business owners to determine where and how the money would be spent, Richmond said.
“I really think it could work,” Richmond said. “It was all positive from my standpoint.”