Not too long ago, I sat down to figure out a way to get my family to either Disneyworld or Disneyland on vacation. The idea has been postponed for now, but I learned an interesting fact in the process. It is cheaper for my Seattle-area family to take a family vacation to Disneyworld in Florida than to Disneyland in California. (If we fly; driving would flip it.) Why? Taxes.
Some locations work harder to keep taxes down and thus, attract more travelers; others are trying to make more revenue and not really factoring in affordability for tourists. Sometimes, that's because a location doesn't have to. New York (2) and Boston (4) rank in the top five for the highest total taxes on travelers. People will still visit those places anyway. But Chicago (1) and Kansas City (5) might want to rethink that. And Seattle (3) might consider that nearby Portland, ranked 5th in cities with the least overall tax burden for travelers (with much the same travel culture) is a much-better buy for tourists.
So, where should you look for cities with cheaper tax burdens for travelers? Florida. Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, and West Palm Beach take the top three spots. But I'm still not sure that the 4th place ranking is enough to draw a crowd of tourists to Detroit.
Source: GBTA Reveals Best and Worst Travel Taxes in Top 50 U.S. Locations
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