The purpose of this paper is to describe an attempt to institute an occupancy tax to support more aggressive tourism development and marketing by a regional tourism group. The process by which the proposed occupancy tax was introduced, considered, and rejected, is described. It is concluded that the failure of the supporters to adequately market the occupancy tax to the public was the turning point in the campaign to have it enacted into law. The paper concludes that there arc at least four vital stages of strategic marketing that must be considered by any group desiring to mtitute an occupancy tax.