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Cultural arts groups get piece of bed tax revenues

nn what is considered a first, Pinellas County tourist officials grant $750,000 to help promote museum exhibits.

By STEVE HUETTEL
Published May 18, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - The arts community is getting some new respect in the tourism business.

Pinellas County's cultural arts organizations for the first time won a guaranteed slice of revenues from the county's bed tax on visitor accommodations Wednesday.

The $750,000 set aside by the county's Tourist Development Council was a third of what cultural arts advocates requested.

But they were elated that institutions such as St. Petersburg's Museum of Fine Arts and the Salvador Dali Museum would have a source of funds earmarked for promoting local tourism.

"It's a beginning,'' said Judith Powers-Jones, executive director of the Pinellas County Arts Council. "It's the first effort by tourism officials to commit funds for cultural development.''

The grants for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 were made possible through last year's 1 percentage point increase in the county's tax on bills for stays in hotels, motels, rental condos and other accommodations. The additional tax, which went into effect in December, will raise about $4.8-million a year.

Tourism officials sold the increase to Pinellas County commissioners last year with a pledge to use 90 percent of the new money to double their advertising budget.

The St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau pumped up its online and cable television advertising and began targeting "niche'' groups such as African-Americans and Hispanics.

In May, the Arts Council asked the tourism board for $2.2.-million of the new bed tax money for grants to nonprofit groups whose cultural arts exhibits and events brought tourists to Pinellas.

Board member Russ Bond, general manager of the Renaissance Vinoy Resort, agreed at Wednesday's budget hearing that arts events such as last year's Monet and Princess Diana exhibits filled rooms.

"There's been a dramatic difference this year when the ... exhibits weren't here,'' he said. "I feel it today in my top-line revenue.''

The trick was how much to give without stealing from advertising that promotes Pinellas to tourists.

The convention and visitors bureau has long made money available for groups, including arts organizations, to promote new events.

Board members decided to take money out of that program and combine it with new tax dollars to create grants strictly for cultural arts.

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.

[Last modified May 18, 2006, 06:28:37]