Teton County voters approve lodging tax

Teton County, Wyoming has used a lodging tax to fund a variety of visitor-impacted services for the past several years. On Tuesday voters decided to continue that program by a vote of 6,935 to 4,710.

60 percent of the two percent lodging tax is used for local travel and tourism promotion. 30 percent is used for visitor impact services, including things like vehicle parking, transportation, public restrooms, pedestrian and bicycle pathways, museums and other public safety displays. Teton County and Jackson split the remaining 10 percent in their respective general funds.

In 2016, total lodging tax collections amounted to $6.3 million. $2.5 million went straight to town and county budgets and $3.8 million to Travel and Tourism promotion.