Officials in the northwestern Montana resort town of Whitefish say resort-tax collections in the last quarter of 2010 increased more than 20 percent compared to the same period in 2009.
The money comes from a 2 percent tax on lodging, restaurants, bars and luxury retail items.
Officials tell the Daily Inter Lake that the largest increase came from restaurants and bars, particularly in December. Tax revenue that month from that sector was $70,881, compared to about $45,000 in December 2009.
Whitefish officials say collections for calendar year 2010 for resort-tax revenue are more than $1.7 million, putting the city back to pre-recession revenue levels in that category.