Hospitality tax revenues are down somewhat in the Fort Smith metro area from last year, but the region is seeing a steady, if slow, upward trend and a bit of improvement in April and May.
Fort Smith hospitality tax collections for April were $107,238, up 3.9% from the $103,201 in March but down 11.7% from April 2024, according to Ashleigh Bachert, executive director of the Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).
In May, the latest month for which totals are available, the collections were $120,012, 11.9% higher than April and 0.1% higher than May 2024.
Bachert said that while the city experienced a couple of strong months, the decrease in traffic during January and February is still a challenge they are trying to overcome. The CVB also anticipated revenue to be lower compared to last year due to the solar eclipse in April and the higher driving rate during that period, she said.
“I’m optimistic that we are able to achieve our projected $1.2 million in lodging tax revenue. The team remains committed to highlighting all that Fort Smith has to offer for those traveling in, and the sales team continues to work on late 2025 business to support those efforts,” Bachert said.
Year-to-date hospitality tax revenue is $524,039, down 2.4% from the $536,673 collected during the first five months of 2024, according to the information provided by the Fort Smith CVB. Fort Smith collects a 3% hospitality tax on lodging, and has no tax on prepared food.
Van Buren had $23,336 in hotel tax collections in May and $17,038 in April. While the collection in April was down 6.7% from the $18,269 in hotel collections in March, May’s collection was up 27.7% from March and up 37% from April. April’s $17,038 in hotel tax collection was a 20.5% decrease from the $21,424 collected from hotel tax in April 2024, and May’s $23,336 was an 8.6% decline from the $25,535 collected in May of last year.
Prepared food tax collection for April and May told a similar story. The $54,449 collected in April was 9.6% less than the $60,213 collected in March and 3.9% less than the $56,533 collected in April 2024. The city collected $57,215 in prepared food tax in May, up 5% from April but down 5% from March and down 7% from May 2024.
Total Van Buren tourism revenue in April was $71,487, down 8.9% from $78,482 in March and down 8.3% from $77,959 in April 2024. Total tourism revenue in May was $80,551, up 3.3% from March and 12.7 from April but down 7.5% from the $87,047 total collection in May 2024.
“I’m seeing a slow upward trend in collections, so I think things are getting better for the prepared food sector,” said Maryl Purvis, director of the Van Buren Advertising and Promotion Commission. “However, I’m not seeing the same trend in the lodging sector. Business travel has seen a dramatic shift since COVID, and I not sure it will return to the pre-COVID levels.”
Year-to-date, Van Buren has collected $351,388 in combined hotel and prepared food tax collections, down 7.3% from $379,007 collected from the combined taxes in the same period of 2024.