When it comes to hotel occupancy rates and revenues generated by the beverage and meals tax, the numbers would indicate Warwick and the rest of the state are experiencing better conditions.

On a statewide basis, statistics provided by the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association show that hotel year-to-date occupancy rates climbing from 50.7 percent to 57.5 percent for the 12-month period as of April. The association also provided a comparison for meal and beverage tax revenues for May of a total of $1,816,324, an increase of 3.3 percent from May 2014.

The numbers would also indicate that Warwick is faring better than some of its neighbors. The city’s meal and beverage tax revenues were $230,851 for May, up 5.6 percent.

Warwick hotel occupancy rates, which Karen Jedson, director of the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Development, put at 70.5 percent for the 12-month period ending in April, are also on the rise.

In a release issued recently, Mayor Scott Avedisian said room occupancy rates at the city’s 16 hotels were up 11 percent in February, 15 percent in March, and 10.3 percent in April, with revenue year-to-date up by 10 percent.

“This is fantastic news for the city, particularly when you consider that every room that’s booked – and we have over 2,230 here in Warwick – translates into more than $400 [per room stay] invested in the local economy,” Avedisian said. “Our proximity to T.F. Green and the InterLink, regional marketing efforts by our Department of Tourism, Culture and Development, and collaboration with our hoteliers and others in the tourism industry are helping to attract more visitors to our community and the state as a whole.”

Dale Venturini, director of the hospitality association, didn’t mince words.

“The economy is doing better,” she declared in an interview Tuesday.

Venturini said there has been “a big up-tick” in business travel and that overall the state and its regional tourism divisions are “doing a hell of a job in marketing.”

In particular, she cited the impact of the Volvo Ocean Race that stopped in Newport in May.

“Volvo took over the entire state as many of the rooms as they could take,” she said.

Venturini sees the elements of the tourism industry coming together like a jigsaw puzzle. She called Rhode Island a bargain, adding, “There’s a lot of things happening.”

Susan Gallogly, director of sales and marketing at the Warwick Courtyard by Marriott, said she is seeing an increase in corporate traffic. A major contributor, as mentioned by Jedson and other hoteliers, have been sports groups coming into the area to compete in regional tournaments as well as for league and college games.

Even this winter, as bleak as it was, Gallogly said occupancy rates were improved over those for 2014. She didn’t have an explanation other than to suggest people were so fed up with the weather that they took “stay-cations” to get away from home and jump into a pool.

Jose Estrompa, general manager of the Airport Radisson, said he’s seen business pick up. He attributed the increase to an “overflow” of business from downtown conventions as well as sporting events. Corporate business, on the other hand, he found as “pretty flat” and he’s been disappointed by airport traffic that also has been flat.

Estrompa is a proponent of local marketing in addition to efforts to market the state as a whole.

“We need to be present at certain events, and people need to know we’re there,” he said.

Last year, a study commissioned by the city and the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau showed that 59 percent of leisure travelers in the area were from the Northeast, specifically Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut. The city’s “Stay in Warwick, See Rhode Island” advertising campaign, which includes television commercials, promotions and Facebook campaigns, has most recently been targeted for the audience in Connecticut, as research showed that residents there were the most uncertain about a leisure trip to Rhode Island.

That effort, Avedisian said, has resulted in increased phone and email requests for visitor information and increased visitors to the department’s Facebook page. In fact, some 23 percent of the department’s Facebook “likes” are now from Connecticut residents.

Jedson is concerned by the governor’s proposal to consolidate regional tourism revenues so as to develop and statewide brand. The plan would cut out $350,000 in hotel tax revenues going to Warwick, or half of what it now gets.

“It would be devastating,” she said. Such a cut would mean the loss of support for a variety of city-supported activities from Gaspee Days to community concert series.

“Why tinker with something that is successful?” she asks.

Jedson observed when funding for the regional tourism offices was established 21 percent of revenues collected were targeted for a statewide program. Instead of that happening, she said, the money flowed into the state general fund. She suggests the funds that amount to about $4 million be designated for their original purpose.

“The system at the state level is broken,” she said. She asked that legislators not attempt to fix it “on the backs of the regions that are doing a great job.”

Avedisian noted the city hosts a variety of national and regional events, including dog shows, softball and hockey tournaments and figure skating, cheerleading and karate competitions, which also benefits local hotels, restaurants and retailers.