Over the past couple of dec-ades, Butler County has been enhancing its reputation as a destination for tourists and business people.

A snapshot of how far the county has come in that regard was revealed at Thursday’s meeting of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, where hotel and motel room occupancies were in the spotlight.

At the meeting, it was reported that the approximately 2,000 hotel and motel rooms available were being booked 70 to 90 percent of the time. That has put the bureau $100,000 ahead of what it had projected to receive by this point in the current fiscal year from the 3 percent tax on beds in the county’s hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts.

The bureau’s revenues were said to be up 24 percent over its projected budget.

On the tourism side, events such as the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival and the Regatta at Lake Arthur continue to bring thousands of people to the county.

This year there will be a new big attraction, the Pyrotechnics Guild International’s Convention in August at Cooper’s Lake Campground, which probably will keep virtually all of the available hotel/motel rooms in the county and for miles beyond full for the duration of the event, as well as for days leading up to it.

On the business front, Cranberry Township’s business boom has people coming to the county for days or longer, helping to keep hotel business brisk.

Meanwhile, whether or not people are supportive of the natural gas-drilling industry that is becoming more deeply embedded in the county, the fact is that skilled drilling people from other states who have been brought in to work in that industry are occupying hotel and motel rooms on a daily basis.

With rooms being booked 70 to 90 percent of the time, it’s reasonable to ponder how long the county’s 2,000 rooms will be sufficient to accommodate the need.

Perhaps, in addition to the county’s bustling southwestern corner, that ultimately might have benefits for Butler in terms of acquiring additional rooms.

The Tourism and Convention Bureau’s budget topped $1 million for the first time during the 2011-12 fiscal year. The window is in place for the budget to grow markedly during the next 10 years. With all that’s happening here, as well as growth not yet envisioned, a $2 million annual budget not too many years hence is not out of the question.

The county’s location virtually on the outskirts of Pittsburgh will continue to bring many benefits, even connected to the professional sports teams based there.

The tourism agency’s message about Butler County’s benefits must continue to spread, and the growth in the agency’s revenue will provide the means for that.

Keeping news about the county’s assets consistently before the state and beyond will encourage people to come here, not only for business but for vacations, even when big events such as the regatta, Jeep festival and the pyrotechnics convention aren’t going on.

The bureau is more a key to such success — indeed, unlimited possibilities — than it’s ever been before.