San Diego

Vowing to help the beleaguered hotel and motel industry, the San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to give $200,000 to the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau to attract tourists.

The council delayed a proposal to halt business tax payments for six months on all companies with 10 or more employees until City Manager Jack McGrory can determine how to come up with the $1.1 million the plan would cost.

Both proposals were advanced by Mayor Maureen O’Connor, who vowed in her recent “State of the City” address to help both industries in tough economic times. O’Connor said the $200,000 should come out of taxes collected by the hotels and motels and charged to guests who stay there.

It would be used for a special advertising campaign to be directed at possible tourists throughout the Southwestern United States and especially Southern California, O’Connor said.