The following article was sponsored in partnership with our friends at the North Tahoe Community Alliance.

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Tourism has always been part of North Lake Tahoe. What has changed is how tourism dollars are reinvested locally.

The North Lake Tahoe Tourism Business Improvement District (NLT-TBID) is now a proven, community-driven way to use visitor spending to support housing, transportation, trails, environmental stewardship, and community spaces.

With a new 10-year renewal approved in late 2025, the TBID is moving from startup mode into long-term impact.

"The TBID has shifted North Lake Tahoe from traditional destination marketing to true destination stewardship — where tourism dollars are reinvested back into the community," according to Tony Karwowski, President and CEO, North Tahoe Community Alliance.

What is NLT TBID again?

The Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) is a self-assessment implemented by tourism-related businesses. It raises around $6m annually in North Lake Tahoe.

Transient Occupancy Tax is a lodging tax paid by overnight visitors in hotels and STRs. It raises about $11m annually.

Together, the two revenue streams create the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work grants program, which is a way for all this tourism revenue to be reinvested into the community with local decision-making. 

What Has Been Accomplished So Far & Where Is The Money Going Now?

More than $40M in tourism revenue has been reinvested locally in the first five years.

This has supported initiatives that contribute to community vitality, economic health, and environmental stewardship, and benefit residents, businesses, and visitors, such as workforce childcare and housing support programs, transit pilots and park-and-ride options during peak periods, trail reconstruction and outdoor access improvements, shoreline and underwater cleanups, lake monitoring, community spaces, public art and local economic devolvement…phew!

Committees convened by the NTCA consist of representatives from local businesses.

They evaluate and determine which investment opportunities to fund, or recommend for funding to the Placer County Board of Supervisors, that align with categories that include workforce housing, economic development, transportation, sustainability, tourism mitigation, and trails. 

One of my favorite examples of the investment of TOT-TBID Dollars At Work in destination stewardship is the ECO-CLEAN Solutions BEBOT beach cleaning robot, which you may see cleaning the beaches during the summer! It’s like a giant beach vacuum.

“The first five years were about building trust and infrastructure. The next ten are about scale, impact, and long-term solutions,” according to Tony Karwowski, President and CEO, North Tahoe Community Alliance.

Bottom Line

The NLT-TBID is no longer an experiment; it is a proven way to keep tourism dollars working locally.

With a 10-year renewal in place, North Lake Tahoe is positioned to use tourism as a tool to build a more resilient, livable, and sustainable community, and I am confident that the NTCA is continuing to lead the region’s stewardship and stewardship education efforts in the right direction.

BA

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This article was sponsored in partnership with our friends at the North Tahoe Community Alliance.