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Resort Development Minister to elevate tourism’s profile

Santori waiting for recommendations of resort task force, budget At recent land use discussions around the province, proponents of tourism have been quick to point out that the resource industries, forestry and mines in particular, are well-represent

Santori waiting for recommendations of resort task force, budget

At recent land use discussions around the province, proponents of tourism have been quick to point out that the resource industries, forestry and mines in particular, are well-represented in government while tourism – the second largest industry in B.C. with $10 billion in annual revenues – was not.

The provincial government, after challenging the tourism industry to double revenues by 2010, has taken steps to raise tourism’s profile.

In February of 2003, Premier Gordon Campbell announced the creation of the B.C. Resort Task Force to look at ways to enhance resort development in the province while eliminating barriers to resort development, creation and expansion.

Most recently, a new cabinet position – Minister of State for Resort Development – was created on Jan. 26. Sandy Santori, the MLA for West Kootenay-Boundary and the former Minister of State for Government Services, was given the position.

According to Santori, the new post was created in recognition of the importance of tourism and the potential for growth.

"Obviously we put forth an economic plan in this province, and we recognized that tourism has significant opportunities and potential to create investment and jobs in B.C.," said Santori.

"And of course the development of resorts is key to achieving that as well as to increasing tourism in the province – I mean, one has only to look into your (Whistler’s) backyard to see what impact a good healthy development of that kind can do for the community and the province."

Santori says his role is not limited to the development of new resorts in the province, but also to existing resorts and resorts in progress.

"The whole goal of the ministry is to (act on) the recommendations that will come from the Resort Task Force, in terms of how we deal with applications and how we streamline our processes," he said.

One of the biggest impediments to finding investors for new and existing resorts, says Santori, is the amount of red tape – the process is different for all applicants, different ministries have conflicting or duplicate application requirements, and the process can be long and drawn out. In some cases, developers have invested millions of dollars in the application process only to be told that they would have to start over, or that their project was rejected.

"I think we’ve learned in the past that the processes are so prolonged that it wasn’t conducive to investment," said Santori. "As a matter of fact it scared investors away because of a lack of certainty.

"What we’re trying to do is eliminate that so we can speed up the process, and, if need be, give developers a ‘no’ a lot quicker."

Santori wouldn’t mention specifics, but said there have been a lot of cases in B.C. where investors have been let down by the province because there wasn’t a good system in place. He also stressed that a new streamlined process doesn’t amount to an open door for developers.

"I can’t be specific, but I think that it’s important to recognize that this is not an exercise to minimize the standards, to compromise the principles of environmental sustainability – it’s to give more certainty on how we deal with those standards," said Santori.

Two of the major barriers to resort development in B.C. are transportation and First Nations land claims.

Transportation is improving with highway and airport improvements he said.

"There’s no questions that transportation may be an issue in some resort communities, but I think we’ve also seen that it’s not always a barrier – I believe most people, if it is a resort that is attractive to them and provides them with the recreation they want, won’t see it as an issue," Santori said.

First Nations claims are more difficult to resolve in any process, but Santori says developers need to engage local indigenous groups earlier in the process and work out compromises before plans get too far along.

"I strongly believe that First Nations do want to be part of economic growth in this province, and we remain very confident that the private sector wants to work with First Nations," he said.

The new minister’s position will not have any say over proposals for a resort tax to help communities pay for the infrastructure used by guests. Santori did say that the government is generally opposed to tax increases of any kind, and doesn’t believe a resort tax is a priority.

He will have a say in the developments proposed for B.C. Parks, with the government recently voting to allow limited development in the form of lodges and recreational opportunities within provincial parks. For those developments, the minister will work with his counterparts and the Ministry of Land, Water and Air Protecton and the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management.

Santori is from Trail, where he served as mayor for eight years. He says his time in a resource-based town showed him the importance of embracing new economic opportunities.

"We’ve all been dependent over the decades on forestry and mining, and have always recognized the need to diversify – and when I talk about resorts I don’t just mean ski hills, but also fishing lodges and hunting lodges, the list goes on," he said. "I think my expertise is understanding needs of rural communities, and I’m looking forward to playing a role in government to be an advocate for these communities who want to see that type of (tourism) development."

Whistler Municipal Administrator Jim Godfrey, a member of the Resort Task Force, sees the new ministerial position as a move in the right direction.

"It’s a very positive step," he said. "It signals that from the provincial government’s perspective that (tourism) is very important. In a way they already did that by establishing the task force in the first place, but it did reinforce that step."

The new ministry does not currently have a budget, but that is expected to change when the provincial government releases its budget later this month.