Placer County adds support for North Lake Tahoe Tourism

Investment in eastern Placer, revenues for housing and transportation

Auburn, CA- Continuing its investment in the economy of eastern Placer County, the Placer County Board of Supervisors voted to contract with the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association to promote responsible tourism and support business in the region, with additional revenues prioritized for housing, transportation and mitigation services related to tourism.

The board approved an annual contract with the NLTRA for up to $4,243,878 to support the North Lake Tahoe tourism-based economy year-round and to ensure broad community input while prioritizing projects that are in alignment with the Placer County Tourism Master Plan.

“Tourism is North Lake Tahoe’s primary economic driver and growing the area’s tourism economy is critical in order to help keep and attract full-time residents.”

Excerpt from North Lake Tahoe Master Plan

In March, the North Lake Tahoe business community passed the Tourism Business Improvement District to fund NLTRA operations and programs. This decision also received unanimous support from the Placer County Board of Supervisors. This 1-2% business assessment will be passed along at the point of sale to customers and businesses will collect the assessment beginning July 1.

Because businesses within the TBID boundaries will not begin collecting assessments until July, the resort association will still rely on transient occupancy tax funds to support operations until TBID revenues are sufficient to cover those costs.

Workforce housing and transportation

The difference between the annual budgeted amount and projected expenditures from the TBID will be considered “freed-up” TOT funds and used for workforce housing and transportation programs. Currently, the freed-up TOT revenues for the coming fiscal year are projected to be approximately $848,592.

According to the North Lake Tahoe Tourism Master Plan (pdf), the region primarily relies on a tourism-driven economy. Annually, visitors spend over $800 million in North Lake Tahoe. Over 60% of local employment and 51% of all earnings can be attributed to tourism.
Responsible economic and tourism initiatives are at the forefront of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association’s work. The association’s pillars of focus include sales, marketing, events, public relations and visitor services. As one of two destination management organizations for North Lake Tahoe, they prioritize shoulder-season travel to encourage visitation in all four seasons, ultimately supporting the local business community year-round.

The board also voted to authorize $215,000 in TOT funds to support tourism mitigating projects and services recommended by the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association Board of Directors. These services include a temporary traffic signal at Grove Street and state Route 28, restrooms on Donner Summit and improvements to pedestrian crossings along the west shore.