By Taxpayers Association of Oregon / OregonWatchdog.com
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Hotel occupancy in Portland is lagging 13% behind pre-pandemic levels of 2019. Kotek’s gas tax is going to make it worse.
Before 2020, occupancy was higher than 70 percent, but the past year saw it drop to 62 percent and revenue from each room dropped to an average of $85. The city’s recovery ranks 163rd among 172 hotel markets, primarily because the city doesn’t have a lot of luxury hotels, which is the strongest market.
Coastal tourism has struggled as well. The #1 tourists to Oregon’s coast are people who live in the wider region. Kotek’s massive gas tax hike makes it harder for people to travel.
Also, hurting travel are Portland’s out-of-control crime and homelessness.
We previously reported an international TikTok celebrity couple visiting Portland and then fleeing in panic:
A British influencer who created a plan to tour the whole United States staring in Portland, has decided to cut his visit to Portland short. He instead fled the city, decrying the city as “dangerous” and “post-apocalyptic.” Will Bailey, 25, and his girlfriend Hannah Taylor, 27, left after just two days, reporting they heard gunfire and encountered “lifeless bodies on every corner” amidst a backdrop of extreme homelessness and crime. His encounter scored up over 3 million views.
They said on the video, “I have just landed in the United States after deciding to leave the United Kingdom and travel this country for the next few months … I’m about to explain what happened in the first 48 hours since we got here. We decided to start our U.S. tour in the city of Portland, Oregon, but we couldn’t have made a bigger mistake if we tried. This city is far from safe. Crime and homelessness dominates this area and this is something we’ve experienced first hand since being here. On our second night, we woken up to sirens, shouting and three loud gunshots. This was almost the cherry on the cake. It’s almost impossible to feel safe here and I am by no means incapable of defending myself, but sometimes it is best to get out of a situation when you can. We are already making arrangements to leave the city to find somewhere a lot more secure.”
Stop the gas tax here.
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