On April 6, residents of Durango will vote on a tax to attract more tourists under the guise of “sustainable” tourism.
What exactly is sustainable tourism? One thing it is not is more of them. Residents benefit from tourists in terms of having access to a wide variety of restaurants. And for those who work in the restaurants, more tourists may provide more consistent income in what is now the “off season.”
I am glad when the tourists leave. Durango is already overcrowded with the estimated 1.2 million to 1.7 million visitors per year. As are our rivers, trails, parking spaces, streets and sidewalks.
I’m all for the tourist tax. But I am opposed to using it to attract more tourists. Instead, I would use the money to fund our streets and our cops and all the other things Durango does not have enough money to pay for.
I’m merely an observer, but it strikes me as odd the way Durango manages its budget. There’s no money for snow plowing. There’s no money to fix potholes. The city needs money for a new police headquarters. There’s not enough money for staff. The list goes on.
Yet there’s plenty of money for recreation. And now there’s a proposal to provide plenty of money for marketing. It seems this deal has already been cut between interested parties and that’s what residents get to vote on. A tax to bring in more people – or not.
Given that choice, my vote would be “No.”
James P. McMahonDurango
