Christmas shoppers helped bump up tourism tax revenues for a second consecutive month, the Tupelo Convention & Visitors Bureau reported today.

Tourism tax revenues in December were $277,805, up 2.05 percent from December 2008.

The revenues come from a 2 percent sales tax on hotels, motels and restaurants in Tupelo.

The increase comes a month after a 2.07 percent increase in November.

Declines in September and October still are hurting the CVB’s yearly average, which is down 1.18 percent compared to fiscal year 2009. The CVB’s budget is based on a 3 percent annual increase.

Read more in tomorrow's Daily Journal.