The SLO City Council has voted to take a step toward establishing a city tourism district–a step that could result in a new tax on hotel and motel stays.
The roughly $1 million per year expected from such a tax would be used to promote more tourism in the city.
With the 5-0 vote, the city is wading into a longstanding debate over whether area tourism should be promoted on a countywide basis or by individual cities.
The SLO County Board of Supervisors is set to consider plans for a separate tourism district–without SLO, Pismo Beach, or Paso Robles participating–in September.
This article appears in Apr 16-23, 2008.