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Glynn County approves tourism product development agreement with Golden Isles CVB, contingent on state action
Summary
The commission unanimously approved a tourism product development project agreement with the Golden Isles Convention & Visitors Bureau to establish a steering committee and a dedicated fund for projects tied to an expected hotel-motel tax increase; the agreement is contingent on legislative approval of the tax change.
The Glynn County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on March 20 to approve a tourism product development project agreement with the Golden Isles Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). The agreement establishes a joint steering committee and a dedicated funding mechanism for tourism infrastructure projects if the state authorizes an increase in the county's hotel-motel tax.
County staff said the agreement implements a prior board resolution that proposed raising the hotel-motel tax from 5% to 7% and earmarking up to 14.28% of the lodging excise tax for eligible tourism product development projects. The agreement sets criteria for projects, allocates how the dedicated share of proceeds would be handled, and creates a steering committee with appointments from both the county and the CVB to prioritize and oversee spending.
Scott McQuaid, president and CEO of the Golden Isles Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the funding would support visitor infrastructure and community amenities, and argued that such projects benefit residents as well as visitors. McQuaid told commissioners, "This opportunity is really to take that to the next level ... It gives us dedicated funding to invest in tourism related infrastructure. And that not only helps visitors, but it helps our whole community." County staff noted the agreement is contingent on successful enactment of state legislation to permit the tax increase and said the agreement will not take effect until that statutory change is in place.
The board took the vote after hearing the staff overview and CVB remarks. Commissioner Dennis Duncan moved approval; Commissioner Thompson seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioners and staff said the agreement was the product of multi-year discussions and collaboration between county staff, the CVB and local hoteliers, and that CVB and county staff would work through the steering committee to develop project lists and priorities once funding is available.
Because the agreement depends on legislation, staff said final program details and disbursements would follow enactment of the law and subsequent administrative steps outlined in the agreement.
