A legislative committee has approved an attempt to get more money to the Wyoming Department of Tourism to promote the state and bring in more state revenue.
The Joint Revenue Committee approved a five percent statewide lodging tax with three percent or roughly $19 million dollars going to state tourism promotion efforts and the rest going to local governments for their own tourism needs. House Revenue chairman Mike Madden notes that tourism is Wyoming's number two industry.
"It is so important that this have its separate funding, that is not cyclical, and causing their ability to attract tourists to go down when the mineral industry goes down."
Under the legislation, counties who have approved a local two percent lodging tax would not get state funding until their local tax expires. The bill will be considered by the full legislature in January.