Florida fests offer vacation fun close by

Summer is over but there's nothing to keep you home this month. Check out some of the events around the state and plan a mini-vacation.

Friday through Sept. 12: Treasure Coast Pirate Fest, Stuart. Arts and crafts and food vendors plus a treasure hunt and interactive street performers. Free. (772) 219-8648, www.TreasureCoastPirateFest.com.

Sept. 17: Fort Myers Music Walk at the Fort Myers River District. (239) 337-1933, www.fortmyersmusicwalk.com.

Sept 17 through 19: Brokenbone Biker Rodeo, Ocala. Statewide bike run and rodeo with leather craft vendors, food and beverages. Held at 7191 NW Gainesville Road; (352) 789-8736.

Sept. 18 and 19: Spanish American War Event, Amelia Island. A commemoration of the Spanish American War is held at Fort Clinch State Park. (904) 277- 7274, www.floridastateparks.org/fortclinch.

Sept. 18 and 19: Taste of the Beach, Pensacola Beach. Visit the Gulfside Pavilion for tastings and entertainment. (850) 932-1500, www.visitpensacolabeach.com.

Beware the most taxing cities

Anyone who has recently traveled to a major U.S. city knows the shock of finding a hotel, car rental or restaurant bill laden with extra charges.

It's a growing trend among cities to add bed taxes, airport concession taxes and other charges to fund tourism marketing campaigns, airport improvements and projects.

Combined with sales taxes, the extra travel taxes add about $28 a day to the cost of a visitor's lodging, car rentals and meals in the nation's top 50 destination cities, according to a new study by the education and research arm of the National Business Travel Association.

Some cities charge more than others.

The cities with the highest overall tax burden on travelers in the central-city area were Chicago ($38.75 a day, on average), New York ($36.53), Boston ($36.47) and Seattle ($34.46), according to the study.

When sales taxes are excluded, Los Angeles ranked among the 10 cities with the lowest travel taxes charged in the central-city areas. But a recent proposal to add a 1.5 percent assessment fee to hotel bills could bump L.A. off the list.

The cities in which travelers face the lowest overall tax burden are Fort Lauderdale; Fort Myers; Portland, Ore.; and Detroit.

Travel software separates fees

With airlines adding more fees for luggage, meals and other extras, several technology and travel management firms have recently unveiled upgrades to travel-expense software to better distinguish the fees from basic airfares.

Travelocity Business, the business travel division of Travelocity, and TRX Inc., the Atlanta travel technology business, are among the companies to announce new fee-tracking programs.

A wire report