A New Policy for Overtouristed America

The tourists come
for your town.
You deserve a share.

Direct annual cash payments to residents
funded by a small tax on tourist spending.

Millions of Americans live in communities overwhelmed by visitors. They absorb the traffic, the crowding, the rising rents — while profits flow to hotel chains, Airbnb hosts in other cities, and absentee cabin developers. The Tourist Dividend changes that. Modeled on Alaska's 40-year Permanent Fund, it's a simple idea: if tourists extract value from your community, your community deserves a cut.

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26
Communities Researched
$1,929
Max payout/person/yr
40 yrs
Alaska's model proven
3%
Proposed starting rate
★ Flagship Pilot Location
Hocking County, Ohio
Southeast Ohio · Appalachian Foothills · 27,938 Residents
$1,128
Annual dividend · family of four · at 5% tax rate
$163M
Annual tourism spending
4 million
Annual visitors
$61,366
Median household income
15.9%
Poverty rate
"We've got to figure out a way to take some pressure off the residents." — Hocking County Commissioner, 2024
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The Problem

Tourism generates billions.
Residents get the bill.

In America's most-visited communities, an uncomfortable truth has taken root: the people who actually live there are bearing the costs of tourism while profits flow to absentee owners, hotel chains, and platforms like Airbnb.

Existing lodging taxes are collected everywhere — but statutes require that money fund more tourism marketing. More ads to attract more visitors to communities already overwhelmed. Residents see nothing direct.

🏠
Housing Affordability Crisis
Short-term rentals remove homes from the local market. Cabin developers buy up land. Families priced out of communities they've lived in for generations by investors who never show up.
🚗
Infrastructure & Traffic Strain
Weekend traffic turns a 10-minute drive into an hour. Road maintenance costs spike. Emergency services get stretched — in Hocking County, 20% of EMS runs are tourism-related.
💵
Wages That Don't Keep Up
Tourism jobs replaced higher-paying manufacturing work. Seasonal swings mean locals earn less in January when bills don't go on vacation. The industry profits; its workers struggle.
📊
Tax Money That Funds More Tourism
Communities collect lodging taxes — but state statutes funnel that money to convention bureaus and tourism marketing. More ads to attract more visitors. Residents see zero.
The Policy

Four steps to a fairer
tourism economy.

The mechanism is simple. It uses existing tax infrastructure and draws on 40 years of proven precedent from Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend.

01
A Small Tax on Tourist Spending
Your county levies a 1–5% surcharge on tourist spending — primarily lodging. This piggybacks on existing collection infrastructure. Tourists rarely notice a 3% surcharge on top of what they already pay.
02
Revenue Flows to a Dividend Fund
Tax revenue goes directly into a dedicated Community Dividend Fund — not the general budget, not a tourism marketing bureau. Ring-fenced for residents. Administered by the county treasurer.
03
Every Resident Qualifies Equally
All verified residents — renters, homeowners, workers, retirees — receive the same equal annual payment. One resident, one dividend. No means testing, no bureaucratic gatekeeping, no politics.
04
Annual Check, Direct to You
Once a year, every resident gets a direct deposit or check. In Hocking County at 5%, that's $282 per person — $1,128 for a family of four. Real money in an Appalachian context.
Why Hocking County

The perfect pilot.
Not too big.
Not too small.

Hocking County isn't the highest-yield location we studied — but it's the right place to start. It sits in what we call the Goldilocks Zone: meaningful dividend potential, minimal industry opposition, clear legal pathway, and an Appalachian narrative that resonates nationally.

1
Clearest Legal Pathway in America
Ohio Revised Code §5739.08(A) allows municipalities to levy lodging taxes for "any lawful purpose" — the most permissive language found across 12 states studied. The City of Logan could implement this without state legislative action.
2
No Major Corporate Opposition
No Cedar Point. No Dollywood. No private equity resort owner. The Hocking Hills tourism industry is small cabin owners and local outfitters — not a sophisticated lobbying operation ready to fight.
3
$1,128 Is Real Money Here
In Appalachian Ohio, a family dividend of $1,128 covers winter heating oil, annual property taxes on a modest home, or a year of car insurance. In Jackson Hole, $3,500 is a ski trip. Here it keeps the heat on.
4
First in Ohio. First in Appalachia.
No Ohio county has ever done this. A region historically defined by extraction — coal, timber — without local benefit could pioneer a new model for hundreds of rural tourism communities nationwide.
★ Pilot Location
Hocking County, Ohio
Southeast Ohio · Hocking Hills State Park · 4M annual visitors
Real Impact Scenarios
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family of 4 (state park worker) $1,128
👵 Retiree on fixed income $282
🧑‍🍳 Single service worker $282
👶 Single mom with 2 kids $846
Growth projection: At 8% annual tourism growth, today's $282/person dividend becomes $527/person by 2030 — nearly doubling the payout.
Full Hocking County Case → All 26 Locations
Your Dividend

How much would your family receive?

Household Size
Tax Rate
1% conservative 5% full proposal
Showing: Hocking County, OH · $163M tourism · 27,938 residents
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Monthly equiv.
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Per person
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The Alaska Precedent

It's already working.
For 40 years.

Since 1982, every Alaska resident has received an annual check from the Alaska Permanent Fund — money derived from the state's shared natural resource (oil). It has been one of the most popular government programs in American history.

Republicans created it. Democrats expanded it. Every Alaskan loves it. Research shows it reduces poverty, improves child health outcomes, and keeps young people from leaving the state.

The Tourist Dividend applies the same principle: a community's natural landscape and cultural heritage are shared resources. When tourists extract value from your hills, your coast, your national park — you deserve a share.

$1,702
2024 Alaska PFD per resident
40+
Consecutive years of payments
$25B+
Total paid to Alaskans since 1982
~80%
Bipartisan approval rating
1976
Alaska Permanent Fund established by constitutional amendment. A Republican governor's idea: oil revenue invested, not spent. Profits belong to the people.
1982
First dividend checks mailed — $1,000 per resident. Concept proven: shared resource revenue → direct payment → enduring popular support.
2000s
Dividends grow with oil prices, reaching $2,000+. Research shows the PFD reduces poverty rates and improves health outcomes for Alaska families.
2024
$1,702 per Alaskan. A family of four receives $6,808. Over 40 years, the state has paid more than $25 billion directly to its citizens with broad bipartisan support.
2026
The Tourist Dividend launches. Same principle, new funding source. Starting in Hocking County, Ohio — the first community in America to claim its share of tourism revenue.
26 Locations Researched

Communities across America
ready for their dividend.

We analyzed 26 counties in 12 states, scoring each on dividend potential, working-class narrative strength, legal feasibility, and opposition risk.

★ Flagship Pilot
Hocking County, OH
Southeast Ohio
$282
Per person @ 3%
Legal: Medium ✓ Score: 6.30/10 Appalachian
#1 Composite Score
Taney County, MO
Branson · Ozarks
$871
Per person @ 3%
Legal: Medium ✓ Score: 6.75/10 Backup Pilot
🔍 Top New Discovery
Mackinac County, MI
Upper Peninsula Michigan
$750
Per person @ 3%
Score: 6.85/10 21% winter unemployment
🎯 Ultimate Target
Sevier County, TN
Gatlinburg · Pigeon Forge
$1,157
Per person @ 3%
$3.93B tourism Needs TN legislation
Highest Per-Capita
Grand County, UT
Moab · Arches · Canyonlands
$1,649
Per person @ 3%
59% say QoL declined Legal barriers
21 more locations
From West Virginia coal country to the Outer Banks to Bar Harbor, Maine.
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Is your community on the list?
Explore all 26 researched locations with live dividend calculators, composite scores, and legal feasibility ratings.
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