Lodging taxes collected in the city of Bend in October increased 21.5 percent over October 2011, according to Visit Bend, the city’s tourism promotion agency. For the fiscal year to date, transient room tax collections have increased 7.3 percent over the previous year, according to figures released Thursday. The agency’s fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30.
Lodging taxes serve as a gauge of activity in the tourism industry, which employed more than 9,500 people in Deschutes County in October.
