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Moab board adopts three tax measures as short‑term indicators for 6% tourism growth goal
Summary
The board voted to use city resort tax, restaurant tax and the rural hospital (prepared-food) tax as near‑real‑time indicators to track progress toward a 6% tourism growth target.
The Moab Tourism Advisory Board voted June 10 to use three local tax measures as near‑real‑time indicators while staff pursues longer‑term direct‑visitor‑spend metrics. The three measures are: the city resort tax, restaurant sales tax (prepared-food sales) and the rural hospital prepared‑food sales tax.
Board members and staff said the Kem C. Gardner Institute’s direct‑visitor‑spend estimates remain the standard measure of tourism economic impact but that those estimates lag by several months. Finance staff and board members argued the selected tax series are collected monthly and provide a timelier signal to guide marketing decisions.
Discussion included technical points about smoothing seasonality (12‑month rolling totals versus month‑over‑month comparisons) and the need for both short‑term month‑by‑month monitoring and longer‑run trend analysis. The board asked staff to return with a reporting approach that includes both immediate indicators and the Gardner Institute’s standard measure.
A motion to adopt those three taxes as the office’s short‑term indicators for measuring progress on the 6% growth objective passed by voice vote; board members recorded the decision as unanimous in the transcript.
