Although one month isn't exactly a trend, the just-released March Transient Occupancy Tax figures show the first increase in almost two years.

The March 2010 numbers, which reflect the gross revenue of city hotels and motels, was up 12.6 percent compared to March 2009.

Part of this increase is probably attributable to March 2009's horrible decline of 25 percent compared to March 2008. Fiscal year-to-date TOT revenue is down about 8 percent — that's slightly ahead of projections. During this interesting time, any TOT number north of zero is something to be thankful for.

Tourism has a direct impact on about 20 percent of the SLO economy.