The City of Landrum will use hospitality tax money to continue and increase advertising in the I-95 Antiques publication.
Landrum City Council met Sept. 11 and approved using $4,860 of hospitality tax revenue to advertise in the magazine again next year. The city will continue its full-page advertisement for its antique stores and will increase its town and restaurant portion from a quarter-page to a half-page ad.
Council met with Carol Marks of I-95 Antiques, who said the advertising program has evidently been extremely well received by antique stores and other town businesses in Landrum.
Marks said business owners tell her people walk into their stores carrying the paper under their arm.
“It’s good to know this is working for you,” Marks told council.
Landrum’s advertisements are included in the I-26 section of the publication. I-95 Antiques is distributed from Florida to Washington on I-95 and from Charleston to Asheville on I-26.
The distribution is currently 35,000, with new issues increasing to a 50,000 distribution.
Landrum Mayor Bob Briggs said Landrum began charging a 2-percent tax for prepared food a few years ago after Spartanburg County initiated a hospitality tax and specified the city’s hospitality tax revenues would go to the county if Landrum didn’t approve its own tax. With the revenue, estimated at $150,000 in next year’s budget, the city pays for advertising such as in publications, a billboard and any other expenses that help bring in tourism and/or beautify the city.