Letter: Cut tourism promotion and reallocate funds


Graphic by Lori Deaton

[Regarding “‘Invest Back Into Our Community’: Local Leaders Call for TDA to Reduce Its Tourism Marketing Budget,” Nov. 22, Asheville Watchdog via Xpress:]

The abundant amount of our taxes, including occupancy tax, that is being spent on promoting local tourism is having a serious negative impact on Asheville. Most residents I know don’t go downtown anymore because finding parking has become so difficult. Traffic has increased, yet our public transportation lags behind.

In my opinion, we have maxed out our infrastructure, and it is not ethical to ignore the stress that tourism has caused. Promoting Asheville has not only attracted tourists but also panhandlers from afar who see tourist locations as a sure bet. This in turn has created an extraordinary amount of homeless people living wherever they can.

My vote would be to cut tourism promotional expenditures by 90% and reallocate those funds to improve infrastructure, deal with the homeless situation and lower the exorbitant residential property taxes. It makes no sense to be a No. 1 travel destination spot that drives up prices, therefore increasing residents’ taxes, and at the same time having insufficient infrastructure.

Don’t wait to see how the allocation formula works out; reallocate now.

— Valerie Naiman
Asheville resident and business owner since 1980

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Letter: Cut tourism promotion and reallocate funds


  1. James

    Can’t disagree with almost all of this, but…

    We don’t get to say how much TDA money is spent on expanding tourism. The state legislature determines that.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.