Tennessee legislature votes down travel agency tax
The Tennessee legislature has again voted down a bill that would have created new taxes on brick-and-mortar and online travel services.
Tennessee joins a number of other states, including Florida, Virginia, Utah, Oregon, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Mexico, that have considered a similar tax over the past two years.
"We hope the bill supporters in Tennessee now recognize that they were led astray by interest groups looking to use public policy as a competitive tactic to impose new taxes on traditional travel agents and online travel companies," said Simon Gros, chairman of the Travel Technology Association, which had lobbied against the bill. "Online travel companies and traditional travel agents are in the business of encouraging travel to places like Tennessee, which creates real jobs and real tax revenue."
If it had passed, Senate Bill 212 would have required all Tennessee-based travel agents who use the fee-for-service model for booking and assembling travel packages to track and pay taxes in multiple taxing jurisdictions. These added compliance costs would have placed particular strain on traditional brick-and-mortar travel agents, who already operate in a business climate marked by extremely low margins, Gros said.
Cheryl
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments