Indian River County uninterested in spending tourist-tax money to promote aviation

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — County commissioners won't earmark tourist-tax money to market passenger aviation at the Vero Beach Regional Airport.

Marketing is best left to the local chambers of commerce, commissioners said Tuesday.

Commissioner Tim Zorc proposed designating about 5 percent of the tourist-development tax revenue for "passenger aviation marketing," which would help market businesses such as Elite Airways at the Vero Beach Regional Airport.

"I see that as a growing need," Zorc said.

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While Elite Airways has brought additional revenue and tourists to the community, businesses such as Piper Aircraft. and FlightSafety also generate revenue at the airport, airport Director Eric Menger told commissioners.

But the airport faces stiff competition for business from other larger cities with airports, he said.

"We just don't have the funding at this airport to compete," he said.

But commissioners said they were uninterested in promoting one industry sector, such as airport tourism, over others. Commissioner Susan Adams, for example, said she is a strong supporter of eco-tourism.

"I don't want to get into where we are funding each other's favorite things," Adams said.

A 4 percent county tourism tax, also known as the bed tax, is charged for hotel stays or any accommodations less than six months long. Revenue is used to promote and advertise the county tourism industry.

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The 2018 county budget allocated $827,699 to the Tourist Development Council, which oversees how tourist-tax money is allocated. Tourism-related nonprofit organizations and the Indian River County and Sebastian chambers of commerce submit requests for funding each year.

Commissioners said there was no need for special marketing aimed at the airline industry.

"I think we're all very excited about the success the airport has had," said Commission Chairman Peter O'Bryan. The Indian River County Chamber of Commerce is the designated marketing agency, he said.

"The marketing should flow through the chamber," he said.

The chamber already promotes local tourism through national radio campaigns, advertisements in the Wall Street Journal and by attending the annual New York Times travel show, O'Bryan said.

Tourism Development Council member Keith Kite, who owns several hotels throughout the county, said setting up a separate aviation fund would be a "dangerous path."

"It needs to be a fluid process," he said. "It's a dangerous, dangerous road to mess with marketing."