The Newport City Council held a public hearing on July 24 to consider the establishment of a Tourism Improvement District. Evan Smith from Discover Newport presented the proposal, describing it as a 10-year program to collect voluntary assessments from hotel partners.
“The Newport Tourism Improvement District was an effort to build more funds to keep our city competitive for both business and leisure travel,” Smith said. “The world of travel is a very competitive industry.”
The proposed district would include 18 hotels with 20 or more rooms, generating an annual assessment budget of $494,950. Approximately 85% of these funds would be allocated for sales, marketing, advertising, and destination promotion.
Smith emphasized the need for Newport to compete with other destinations, citing Asheville, North Carolina’s $40 million budget as an example of the industry’s competitiveness.
The proposal requires city approval under state law. If approved, the city would collect the funds, retaining a 3% processing fee.
Some council members expressed concerns about the city’s involvement and potential liability. Councilor David Carlin questioned the necessity of city participation, suggesting the hotels could organize independently.
Smith highlighted the benefits of tourism to the city, including property tax, lodging tax, meals tax, and parking fees. “The city is making a lot of money right now on travel and tourism,” Smith said. “I think you need to look at that entire dashboard when you’re talking about this.”
Addressing concerns about potential over-tourism, Smith stated that marketing efforts would focus on off-season and midweek periods rather than peak summer weekends. “Are we trying to stuff more people in the bottle of the 16 summer weekends? No,” Smith assured the council.
The council did not vote on the proposal at this meeting. Further discussion and a decision are expected at future sessions.
