If you think Bend should spend less on promoting tourism, well, it tried. The courts have stopped it.

The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed on Wednesday a lower court decision against the city.

The city of Bend passed an ordinance in 2017 to lower the total percentage of total local transient lodging tax revenues from 35.4% to 31.2%.

Those taxes are basically the taxes people pay when they stay in a hotel. The Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association and two local hotel owners challenged the ordinance in court.

The city has argued the plaintiffs didn’t face real or probable injury. The courts disagreed.

The city also argued that the overall percentage allocated to tourism remained above 30% and that was sufficient to meet the law. The courts disagreed, saying there was also an unambiguous prohibition from decreasing the amount for tourism promotion on or after July 2, 2003.

It may seem like Bend doesn’t need tourism promotion. But if the city of Bend wants to make a change like this, it would seem to need a change in state law.