Some Butler County residents no doubt were surprised to read in the Dec. 26 edition of the Butler Eagle that the county’s bed tax now is generating in excess of $1 million for the county Tourism and Convention Bureau.

It’s easy to understand how some residents who might not be fully familiar with development in the county’s southwestern sector might not realize the number of hotel rooms within this county’s borders.

In fact, the county currently has 1,400 hotel rooms, with another 300 rooms expected to be available by the end of 2012.

It’s also envisioned that two additional hotels could be built in 2013.

The bed tax is a 3 percent levy on hotel and bed and breakfast rooms. Of the total money collected, 98 percent is allocated to tourism; the other 2 percent is retained by the county as an administrative fee for monthly collection of the tax.

The tourism bureau’s main function is to encourage people from other areas of Pennsylvania and from other states to visit here. That is accomplished by way of advertising in national, state, regional and local publications; through the bureau’s own brochures; and by putting out its message about the county through its website.

In addition, the bureau sends a list of events being held here each month to various media, convention groups and other tourism bureaus.

Meanwhile, as reported in the Dec. 26 Eagle, Jack Cohen, executive director, and staff members attend national meetings, conventions and trade shows to promote the county’s tourism and convention assets.

All of that requires money, and the bed tax has been a godsend for the bureau’s efforts.

“We are targeting people who we normally wouldn’t meet, to tell them about Butler County and what they can do here,” Cohen said.

But in the process, the bureau also attempts to reach local residents who don’t realize what tourism attractions are located within the county. That is especially true regarding people who have moved here without much prior knowledge of this county and its assets.

The bureau also provides ad-design and promotion recommendations to its members.

Bolstering the bed tax collection total is the fact that virtually all hotel rooms in the county are booked on weekdays. The bureau’s challenge is to attract events that would fill the rooms on weekends.

Accomplishing that will require vision and cooperation on the part of municipalities and organizations to complement the bureau’s efforts.

At the foundation of all tourism promotion efforts is money. With development remaining brisk here and with the impact of Marcellus Shale gas, the prospects are good that the size of the bureau’s budget will grow significantly in the coming years.

That ensures that more people will learn about Butler County’s tourism attractions and events. And that translates to more revenue for many area businesses that provide goods and services to visitors.

The importance of the bed tax cannot be overstated.