The B.C. government has upped the stakes for the $9.3 billion tourism industry, backing it’s challenge to the industry to double revenues by 2015 by injecting an additional $50 million this year.
On Sept. 24, the province announced a new tourism strategy to enhance marketing, resort development and community involvement in tourism decisions, while doubling marketing funding for Tourism B.C., to approximately $50 million, and providing a one-time $25 million grant to the Union of B.C. Municipalities to create a five-year marketing plan.
"This will be local governments’ money to administer and allocate, to invest and leverage for tourism infrastructure and marketing, and to make the most of all B.C. has to offer," said Premier Gordon Campbell, announcing the $25 million grant.
Tourism B.C.’s funding is currently determined as a percentage of provincial room tax revenues. The provincial tax on hotel rooms is 8 per cent; Tourism B.C. receives 1.65 per cent. In 2003-04, that represented $24.2 million for Tourism B.C.’s marketing activities.
The details are still being worked out regarding the new funding, but Tourism B.C. may see its share of the room tax double.
"The mechanics are still being looked at, what the system for accessing those funds will be, but we expect to know more in the next few weeks as we reach an agreement," said Ray LeBlond, the director of communications for Tourism B.C. "We do know that the government said they would double our funding, and that it’s intended to be an annual thing."
The next step for Tourism B.C. is to meet with their partners and determine the best way to spend that money.
"We certainly have a framework of long-term strategies on what we think would be the best way to approach our marketing opportunities, but it’s probably appropriate to talk to our partners throughout the industry and ask them what our priorities are right now, and what’s best in the long-term and short-term. We want to make sure that every dollar we spend has a maximum return of investment," said LeBlond.
The added funding puts B.C. on par financially with competing tourism groups, says LeBlond, but the province has always been able to get by with less.
"There’s two ways to look at it, and that’s that the dollars make us very competitive, giving us the ability to have a greater market presence. The second part of it is not only having greater resources, but how effectively we’ve been using them," said LeBlond. "I would argue that B.C.’s success in that department, through Tourism B.C. and other organizations, is already ahead of the competition.
"I think we’ve always had as an objective the best return on our investments, and we’ve done that. The tourism organizations we have in regions and communities also work very closely together with each other and with the province, which means we’re strong at leveraging our opportunities and have a stronger presence with a single message in the markets, which reinforces our brand."
There’s still room for improvement, LeBlond says – although B.C. has been successful in drawing tourists in the past, the province is still a long way from realizing its full potential.
"What we’ll be doing is investing in programs that get us closer to that true potential, whether it’s in the travel trade, through conferences, talking directly to consumers. We may change our goals if tourism increases throughout the province, but right now we’re concentrating on getting the word out to the most people that B.C. is a great place to visit," he said.
There’s no word yet on how the Union of B.C. Municipalities will distribute and spend their $25 million grant from the B.C. government, and the UBCM did not return phone calls last week.
The new funding comes on the heels of the provincial government’s Spirit of 2010 marketing campaign, a series of initiatives launched in concert with the Council of Tourism Associations of B.C. (COTA) to leverage the Olympics in marketing the province, as well as new funding to improve and standardize post-secondary programs in the tourism industry.
In addition, the government recently received the findings of a special task force on resort development, and says there is the potential for more than a billion dollars in private sector tourism investment in the next few years.
COTA, which represents more than 18,000 tourism operations in B.C. employing more than 115,000 people, says the new funding demonstrates the government’s commitment to developing tourism.
"This new commitment to tourism marketing is an investment that will pay great returns back to the people of B.C.," said COTA president Michael Campbell. "It will allow B.C. to take full advantage of our province’s great tourism potential. Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world and the premier’s commitment will help us take SuperNatural B.C. to the next level."
Geoffery Howes, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservice Association, said "The ability to attract visitors to British Columbia is of paramount importance for the sustainability and success of B.C.’s tourism operators."
The B.C. and Yukon Hotel’s Association also praised the announcement, which they believe will help them to be competitive with other regions.
"Beyond our boarders, other jurisdictions are working harder than ever to attract tourists and the marketplace demands that B.C. tourism and government work together to grow this important industry," said Craig Norris-Jones, the chair of the association.
