Almost every state sells itself as a tourist destination, some more convincingly than others. Maine’s natural beauty, its open spaces and three-season activities (spring is a bit of a bust) give it a huge advantage over most. Its problem has been being able to afford to tell people consistently about what’s here and why they should visit.

An added half penny on the meals and lodging tax, as proposed by Gov. King, would solve much of that. The half penny would raise more than $6 million, sending the current budget of $4.5 million back to the General Fund and giving the tourism industry something it can count on. Even though no one likes a new tax and some lawmakers already are grumbling about it, the Maine Innkeepers Association, Campground Owners and the Ski Maine group have all understood the advantage of securing this funding source and recently have voted in favor of the governor’s proposal.

Dedicated revenue – money raised from a specific group of people for a specific government function – is not the best way to run a state. It creates inequalities and can deny funding to important services simply because they do not have a product that is easily taxed or customers with deep pockets. But in some cases, it makes sense. And given that the primary beneficiaries of increased tourism advertising by the state is the tourism industry itself, this is one of them.

The King administration recognized early on the importance of increasing tourism advertising, and the results of this investment have been impressive. The Office of Tourism budget has nearly tripled, from $1.6 million a year to $4.5 million since 1996, but for each additional $1 spent on advertising, revenue to the state increased between $17 and $20.

The tourism industry itself is now bringing in more than $200 million a year in additional revenue since the increased advertising. Now, with signs the economy is slipping and the contest among states for tourism dollars likely to grow more intense, Maine should do what it can to increase the awareness elsewhere of what this state has to offer.

More money from the strapped General Fund is not going to appear; more revenue from tourists, who traditionally have reported what a great deal they thought Maine was, would, and in sufficient quantities to improve the marketing of Maine and attract more visitors, more state revenues and a bigger budget for the Office of Tourism. Legislators leery of this tax proposal should say why they would oppose making tourism in Maine stronger than ever.