Bucks tourism gets boost of local tax funds

Commissioners in Bucks County have agreed to grant the Bucks County Conference and Visitors Bureau an additional 1 percent in local hotel taxes to expand its marketing efforts and provide grants for tourism-related nonprofit organizations.

The increase will give the bureau an extra $800,000 a year. The visitors bureau had been receiving 2 percent of the hotel tax, with the remaining 1 percent staying with the county for open-space preservation.

The commissioners last fall approved an $87 million bond issue for open-space preservation, freeing up the additional 1 percent.