FAQs

To help advance Dallas as a top five U.S. destination, a capital-generating public improvement district was created, authorized by the Dallas City Council and effective August 1, 2012. Hotels in Dallas city limits with 100 rooms or more pay a 2% assessment on occupied rooms for the purpose of generating funds to market and promote Dallas as a convention and tourism destination. In 2016, the DTPID was renewed for a 13-year term, to September 2029.

August 1, 2012. In 2016, the DTPID was renewed for a 13-year term, to September 2029.

Since 2012, private hoteliers in Dallas have been able to work with the public in a unique partnership with a shared goal: Enhance tourism. In partnership with the entire Dallas hospitality community, DTPID supports efforts to bring business to Dallas that would not otherwise come – from leisure visitors to group meetings to large sporting events.

Dallas was the first major city in Texas to establish a Tourism Public Improvement District, which by law allowed us to utilize travelers’ dollars in a strategic way to not only grow the number of visitors to our city, but also to enrich the lives of the people who live and work in Dallas. Other cities, seeing our success, have followed suit. As usual, Dallas leads the way!

Hotels levy a 2% assessment on sold hotel rooms at hotels within Dallas city limits that have 100 rooms or more. The hotel recovers the cost of that assessment by charging it to guests as a hotel room night charge. The funds are collected by the city of Dallas and returned to the Tourism PID to be used to market and promote Dallas as a convention and tourism destination.

The Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District Corporation (DTPIDC), a private nonprofit corporation, manages the Tourism PID, with governance provided by a 10-member Board of Directors and two non-voting, ex-officio board members. Hoteliers within the district fill the voting positions.

It is a 2% assessment on sold hotel rooms at DTPID participating hotels.

The purpose of a tourism public improvement district is to generate supplemental funding for tourism marketing and sales incentives as authorized by Chapter 372 of the Texas Local Government Code, also known as the Public Improvement District Assessment Act. When a group of hotel property owners petition to create a tourism public improvement district, they provide a service plan that indicates which statutory categories are included as eligible expenditures throughout its term. Use of assessment revenue is limited to the categories on the service plan, with no authority to add or remove expense categories. VisitDallas acts as the administrative entity for programs authorized by the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District Board, but funds from the DTPID cannot be used to pay staff salaries or travel expenses.

The DTPID, with VisitDallas, works to tell our community’s story, promote Dallas as a destination and drive investment and opportunity in our neighborhoods.

Tourism plays a key role in the city of Dallas’ economic success. Last year, more than 27 million people visited Dallas, spent $5.2 billion and generated an economic impact of $8.8 billion. Tourism supports hotels, attractions, restaurants – and jobs. In total, more than 65,000 jobs in Dallas are supported by the tourism industry.

Outside of those specifically tied to tourism, the industry benefits households in Dallas. Tourism-driven state and local tax proceeds of $607.9 million in 2019 helped offset the average Dallas household tax burden by $1,221. Funding utilized by the Tourism PID is sourced from travelers coming into Dallas – not taxes on Dallas residents – and helps to directly benefit citizens of Dallas. From large businesses to mom-and-pop shops in every neighborhood of Dallas – visitor spending is essential to the livelihoods of people in our community.

Tourism is increasingly competitive industry and campaigns such as “BIG Things Happen Here” and “All Sides of Dallas” help visitors to connect with the excitement and opportunity that exist in Dallas. Targeted campaigns for Dallas events such as the Riverfront Jazz Festival, the Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello exhibit, Big D Holiday, Party on the Plaza, Deck the Plaza and more enable the city to stay in front of regional, national and international audiences. Dallas must compete with every other city for our community’s share of the world’s attention, customers and investment. Destination promotion is an essential investment in the quality of life of all residents in our community