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Senate committee advances Tennessee tourism budget after department cites visitor spending growth
Summary
The Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted to send the Department of Tourist Development’s FY request to the Finance Committee after Commissioner Mark Ezell outlined growth in visitor spending, a request for recurring and nonrecurring dollars, and rural outreach efforts.
The Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on March 26 advanced the Department of Tourist Development’s budget request to the Finance Committee after hearing a presentation from Commissioner Mark Ezell and department staff.
Ezell told the committee that Tennessee has seen rapid visitor-spending growth in recent years and argued the state benefits when out-of-state visitors pay sales taxes. "When visitors pay, residents benefit," he said, describing tourism as "real money" that produces sales-tax revenue without raising taxes on Tennesseans.
The department asked the committee to approve recurring and one-time funds to sustain its marketing and grant programs. Ezell summarized the request as roughly $25,000,000 in recurring funding and $15,000,000 in nonrecurring…
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