On September 12, 2022, the McDowell Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) attended the West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau (WVACVB) meeting in conjunction with the Governor’s Conference on Tourism. The McDowell County CVB was awarded a plaque for earning their accreditation through the WVACVB. The McDowell County CVB has never been accredited. Accreditation is a very labor-intensive process and will not be awarded if all the criteria is not met. Accreditation is a very important step for the McDowell County CVB as well as McDowell County. All CVB’s are now required by the legislation to be accredited. If a CVB is not accredited, they cannot legally receive their portion of the occupancy tax money and in turn would not have money to operate or advertise McDowell County.
Lodging facilities collect 6% occupancy tax from all lodging stays, and then this money is submitted monthly to the county or town/city where the lodging facility is located. Last year lodging facilities reported a little over 3.11 million was spent on lodging in McDowell County. $186,995 was paid to the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office and the cities and towns in McDowell County in the form of Occupancy tax formerly known as Hotel/Motel tax. The McDowell County CVB gets half the money to operate and promote lodging, events, and other attractions in McDowell County. The other half the County and cities and towns use for park maintenance, festivals, and recreation in McDowell County.
The McDowell County CVB is very pleased to have earned this accreditation. We are also happy we will be able to continue to promote McDowell County and continue to work hard to make McDowell County a premier tourist destination.
