An article on the impact of tourism on our city of Shenandoah is out in the April issue of the Texas Municipal League’s Texas Town & City magazine (their annual tourism issue). The focus of this story is the outsize role that tourism plays in our small city of Shenandoah – just over two square miles in geographic size, and located between three exits of I-45 – it’s a city where sales tax revenues makes up approximately 72% of our city’s annual budget, and it also has one of the highest percentages of tax receipts from travel spending generated by non-residents in the state.
The bureau’s promotion of our city’s partners, including its attractions, entertainment venues, hotels, restaurants, shops and sports facilities helps keep our businesses’ cash registers ringing and fuels the city's sales tax collections, which in turn, help fund quality of life initiatives that benefit our city’s residents. Some examples would include things like having the lowest property taxes in Montgomery County and a 20% homestead tax exemption (the highest allowed by law) for all residents.
We also cited a quote from one of our industry trailblazers, Maura Gast executive director of @VisitIrving, a longtime friend and colleague, for her Destination Management Cycle, also know by those of us in the industry as “…it all begins with the visit.”
Thank you Texas Town & City for this opportunity to share our city's story.
Hope you enjoy the read…