NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Resort tax collections in March declined 7.1 percent over the same period last year in greater New Smyrna Beach, even with Bike Week, though the downward trend was less severe than in Daytona Beach and other areas of Volusia County.
Bed tax collections in Southeast Volusia -- New Smyrna Beach, Esdgewater and Oak Hill -- totaled $169,628, primarily short-term rentals geared to the 10-day motorcycle rally that typiically draws half a million countywide, filling up hotel and motel rooms, campgrounds and providing business for restaurants and bars. But this year drew far less with the nation entrenched in a recession and impacting tourism throughout the Sunshine State.
Bed tax collections countywide fell 15.6 percent to $918,488 from $1.09 million in March 2008, the Volusia County Division of Revenue Services reported today.
In Daytona Beach area, Bike Week's hub, bed taxes collected were $698,730, down 17.2 percent from the same period a year ago. The DeLand and Deltona areas saw an 18.7 percent drop in the bed tax.
The Volusia County Division of Revenue Services said a 3 percent tax is collected throughout Volusia County to aid Daytona Beach's Ocean Center. Another 3 percent tax is collected to promote tourism in the the greater Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach and DeLand/Deltona areas.