By Debbie Robinson

news@joplinglobe.com

MIAMI, Okla. — Tourism officials estimate that the number of hotel rooms in Miami will reach more than 500 by the end of the year.

Amanda Davis, director of the Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, said a new Hampton Inn scheduled to open next month and a new hotel being built by Buffalo Run Casino are adding to the availability of hotel rooms.

At the end of March, the city had 295 hotel rooms, Davis said. With completion of the new Hampton Inn, that number will jump to 369, and two more hotels under construction will add 150 rooms, she said.

Last year, the city’s 4 percent hotel and motel tax generated $121,540, Davis said, an increase of 12.5 percent over the figure for the previous year. The first quarter of 2008 has recorded an increase of 18 percent over revenue during last year’s first quarter.

Money from the tax finances Davis’ office and tourism promotions.

Total gross revenue receipts the hotels generated in taxes last year were more than $3 million. The revenue helps the city attract more events and tourists, Davis said.

“We are an event-driven community,” she said.

She cited events such as concerts at a local casino, performances at the Coleman Theatre, a Hooters golf tournament and the annual spoonbill fishing season, which runs March 15 through May 15, as boosting Miami’s hotel occupancy.

“We had a group of fishermen from Nebraska that came and stayed two weeks,” Davis said.

Two different groups of visitors are staying in the city’s hotels, she said.

One group is composed of visitors who are coming for the entertainment, such as a concert scheduled for May 30 at Buffalo Run Casino by country artists Brooks and Dunn. Large family reunions and class reunions planned for the summer also are contributing to the hotel bookings.

The other visitors come to Miami for the culture, Davis said. Historic Route 66 and the history of the nine American Indian tribes in Ottawa County draw many international tourists, she said.

Carl Haynes, advisory board member for the tourism bureau and general manager of the Miami Microtel Inn, said he expects a record year for hotel occupancy.