Hotel Taxes In BC Are Too High
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A Pox on the Tourism Tax
We, the undersigned, know that high hotel room taxes are killing the tourism business in BC.
Tourism directly employs more than 600,000 Canadians across the country and provides indirect employment for a further one million. Many communities depend almost entirely on tourism for their survival.
Your government is giving $50 million to Tourism BC, the government agency that is supposed to support the tourism industry, with $9 million of that sum spent on wages and expenses for Tourism BC employees*.
Many jurisdictions worldwide have experienced similar expenditures, and have cancelled tourism funding. BC has the dubious distinction of having the highest hotel room taxes in North America. Even Hawaii is only 11.9\%. In BC it is 14 - 16\% **.
Your governments own statistics confirm a 30 per cent decline in tourism from our most important customer, the US, in the past seven years***, even though you have doubled support to this industry - considered one of the top three industries in BC.
This failure, in spite of your governments generous support, is due to the lack of vision by government-sponsored tourism agencies who lag behind the curve in communicating the information sought by potential travellers and tourists to our beautiful province. Tourists do not go to government web sites for information. They go directly to hotel or attraction web sites****.
Innkeepers constantly hear the complaints, especially from American tourists, that the room bill carries too many taxes. They see Canada as a socialist country and are not happy supporting socialism.
The recent cancellation of the Visitor Rebate Program by the Federal Government is another example of government taking too much from tourists.
A pox on the tax. Reduce the total tax to 9\% or 10\%. Rethink the tourism strategy in terms of real marketing, not the approach that worked 30 years ago. Tourism and tourists will thank you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The following provide links to background information:
* Tourism British Columbia Statement of Financial Information for the Year Ended March 31, 2006 Prepared pursuant to the Financial Information Act. http://www.tourismbc.com/pdf/2006-2006_Fin_Info_Act_Report.pdf
** Combined federal GST and provincial BC Hotel Room Tax.
*** BC Stats Tourism sector monitor January 2007 Page 5 http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/pubs/tour/tsm0701.pdf
**** TAMS of US Overview page 6 http://www.tourismbc.com/PDF/TAMS\%20US\%20\%20Overview.pdf
We, the undersigned, know that high hotel room taxes are killing the tourism business in BC.
Tourism directly employs more than 600,000 Canadians across the country and provides indirect employment for a further one million. Many communities depend almost entirely on tourism for their survival.
Your government is giving $50 million to Tourism BC, the government agency that is supposed to support the tourism industry, with $9 million of that sum spent on wages and expenses for Tourism BC employees*.
Many jurisdictions worldwide have experienced similar expenditures, and have cancelled tourism funding. BC has the dubious distinction of having the highest hotel room taxes in North America. Even Hawaii is only 11.9\%. In BC it is 14 - 16\% **.
Your governments own statistics confirm a 30 per cent decline in tourism from our most important customer, the US, in the past seven years***, even though you have doubled support to this industry - considered one of the top three industries in BC.
This failure, in spite of your governments generous support, is due to the lack of vision by government-sponsored tourism agencies who lag behind the curve in communicating the information sought by potential travellers and tourists to our beautiful province. Tourists do not go to government web sites for information. They go directly to hotel or attraction web sites****.
Innkeepers constantly hear the complaints, especially from American tourists, that the room bill carries too many taxes. They see Canada as a socialist country and are not happy supporting socialism.
The recent cancellation of the Visitor Rebate Program by the Federal Government is another example of government taking too much from tourists.
A pox on the tax. Reduce the total tax to 9\% or 10\%. Rethink the tourism strategy in terms of real marketing, not the approach that worked 30 years ago. Tourism and tourists will thank you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The following provide links to background information:
* Tourism British Columbia Statement of Financial Information for the Year Ended March 31, 2006 Prepared pursuant to the Financial Information Act. http://www.tourismbc.com/pdf/2006-2006_Fin_Info_Act_Report.pdf
** Combined federal GST and provincial BC Hotel Room Tax.
*** BC Stats Tourism sector monitor January 2007 Page 5 http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/pubs/tour/tsm0701.pdf
**** TAMS of US Overview page 6 http://www.tourismbc.com/PDF/TAMS\%20US\%20\%20Overview.pdf
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