The executive director of Tourism New West said she’d consider applying to the provincial government for the three per cent hotel tax this fall.
Tej Kainth and the City of New Westminster have been advocating to bring the Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) to the Royal City for the last few years. The hotel tax is in addition to the eight per cent PST levied on hotel room visits, and is used to support tourism marketing, programs and projects. The province collects the money on behalf of participating communities and then funnels it back in after all administration costs are recovered, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Under the previous program, the hotel tax was capped at two per cent. It changed to three percent on Sept. 1, giving participating entities the option to increase their rate. Communities that choose three per cent will also be supporting a new provincial tourism events program.
A two per cent MRDT rate would equate to $100,000 a year for Tourism New West, Kainth explained. In order to implement the program though, applicants need to receive support from 51 per cent of the hotel properties and 51 per cent of the units of accommodation. For New Westminster, the major player is Inn at the Quay.
“Discussions have been positive,” Kainth said of her meetings with hotel management. “This is a complicated process. There’s a lot of layers and steps involved. We’re trying to do the best that we can. We anticipate over the next six months that we’ll start to see something.”
Without the hotel tax, Kainth said Tourism New West is left with limited resources, giving her no option but to apply for grants.
This year, the marketing organization received $100,000 from the city, $40,000 more than previous years.
“We recognize that this is not an ideal situation for long-term funding for us, and that’s why we’re working to bring new funding to the table,” she noted, adding she’d like to get the tax in place before October, when the next round of grant applications are due.
The province also unveiled new MRDT guidelines this week, which included updated application requirements and timelines.
“I think the hotel providers were a little concerned where the dollars were going and who was collecting the dollars,” Kainth said. “I think at the end of the day, it’s really important for us to be able to build a strategic plan on where the money’s going to be allocated. That’s what we’re working on right now. If we were going to ask for an additional three per cent, we’re going to have to show where that money is going and making sure we’re delivering results by the end of this by bringing in more visitors to the city.”
