Tourism reducing Tax Burden in OC

More people are visiting Oconee County than ever before. According to recent statistics from the Mountain Lakes Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2014 was a record year in the Golden Corner. “We had an all-time record last year of $56 million of tourism expenditures here in Oconee County. When we started the CVB in 2008, that number was somewhere around $45 million, so that is a huge, huge increase.” Mountain Lakes CVB President and CEO Ken Sloan said that thanks to tourists visiting Oconee County last year, property owners paid less in taxes. “Every property owner here, their local tax burden is reduced by $165 a year as a direct result of these expenditures.” In 2014, Oconee County collected over $6.38 million in local and state taxes. Sloan says the tourism industry also creates jobs. “Last year, we had over 440 travel and tourism related jobs here with $8.36 million in payroll.” Since the inception of the CVB eight-years ago in Oconee County, tourism has grown by 29% and $12.6 million has been added to the local economy.