ALEXANDRIA — A 3% tax collected from guests staying at motels, resorts, bed-and-breakfasts and other lodging businesses in the Alexandria area continues to make an impact, although it's down a little from past years.

At the end of August of this year, the tax pulled in $510,000, down about 6% during this same time period last year. By the end of 2024, the tax yielded $722,413, a dip of 8.3% from 2023 when the tax collected $788,393. The money will go toward a variety of projects and strategies to bring in more people to the Alexandria lakes area.

Alexandria isn't the only area that's seeing a decline. Statewide, 51% of destinations report lower activity.

At its Monday meeting, the Alexandria City Council listened to a report from Jean Bowman, executive director of Explore Alexandria T

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