Hotel/motel tax revenue drops due to COVID-19

MERCER COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – Mercer County is seeing a fall in revenue from hotel and motel taxes.

County Commissioner Greg Puckett says the fall comes from a lack of recent travel due to coronavirus concerns.

This means less money for not only the commission to help fund community events but also less money for the Mercer County CVB. However, Puckett says things are looking up.

“We’re seeing travel go up,” says Puckett. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing cases go up because of travel. We just want to remind everybody, you can still travel, you can still do other things. be careful, be cautious and hopefully, we’ll be able to get back together, start celebrating and doing other things again.”

Even if fairs and festivals were possible amid a pandemic, Puckett says they would not be able to support those financially.

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Kassie Simmons
Kassie Simmons joined the team in January 2019 as a weekend journalist. She graduated from Virginia Tech in just two and a half years with a BA in multimedia journalism. During her short time at Virginia Tech, she served as the editor for the university’s chapter of The Tab. Kassie was named the top reporter for The Tab at Virginia Tech on multiple occasions and made the list for the top 30 reporters for The Tab in the U.S. She also studied theater performance and minored in creative writing. Before coming to WOAY, Kassie interned at WSLS in Roanoke and the Tidewater Review in her hometown of West Point, Va. She has loved following breaking news since her childhood and has a passion for delivering the stories people care most about. Kassie is excited to be working in Southern West Virginia and looks forward to all the adventures ahead of her. You can follow her on Twitter at @KassieLSimmons and like her page on Facebook. If you have a story you think she should check out, send her an email at ksimmons@woay.com.