Chelan Valley tourism economy to benefit from tax paid by visitors

Lake Chelan with view of the city of Chelan in foreground. Photo courtesy: Visit Lake Chelan.

Chelan County commissioners have awarded nearly $222,000 in lodging tax grants to 35 tourism-related groups.

The county, which generates approximately $2.2 million in lodging taxes annually, allocates a portion of that funding to nonprofit, tourism-related agencies and groups for marketing and event efforts.

The Chelan County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC), a six-member, volunteer committee, then reviews all applications, making a final recommendation to commissioners. This year, LTAC received 46 applications totaling nearly $780,000 in requests.

“It was a tough selection process again this year, with about three times the financial requests than the amount of grant dollars available,” said Chelan County Commissioner Shon Smith, who chairs LTAC. “The committee put a lot of time and consideration into the final list. In several cases, we weren’t able to fund a full request, but we thought it important to spread those lodging tax dollars around. Tourism is a vital part of our economy and we want to help our partners succeed, which in turn helps everyone in Chelan County.”

The full list of grantees is available online.