Room Levy

Summerside moves on tourism tax
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 4:19 PM AT
CBC News
A draft copy of Summerside's new hotel room levy bylaw was presented to council Monday night, including hopes it will raise about $100,000 for marketing the city as a destination.
Deputy mayor Bruce MacDougall said the levy is necessary if Summerside is to regain its reputation as the sports tournament capital of the region.
"I believe we were in a niche market before," MacDougall said.
"Now everyone has seen how valuable that is to the economy, and there's a lot more people going after it with a lot more dollars."
Room levies to raise money for tourism marketing are becoming more common in the Maritimes, and in fall, the P.E.I. government enacted legislation enabling municipalities to implement a levy. Charlottetown has already put one in place.
'Working in separate silos'
In Charlottetown, money from the room levy goes to an industry group called Tourism Charlottetown. The City of Summerside plans to do its own marketing and promotion. Summerside also has an industry group, Tourism Summerside, and Coun. Cory Thomas worries having the city marketing alongside that group could lead to confusing messages.
Who is responsible for the tourism mandate for this municipality? Is it Tourism Summerside? Or is it the city?" he said.
"I know Tourism Summerside are starting to get into events and conventions and we're going to, too. So it seems we're working in separate silos here and not working together."
Council did not commit to an implementation date for its room tax, but at the annual budget meeting last month, MacDougall said he hopes the levy will be in place by this summer.