Tourism PG Projecting ‘Aggressive’ Increase In Revenue
Prince George, BC – Tourism Prince George is projecting a big jump in revenue over the coming year, thanks in large part to the Additional Hotel Room Tax and increased tourism activity.
While Prince George City Council is proposing to maintain its grant at last year’s level of $327-thousand dollars, Tourism PG is forecasting projected revenues of $1.2-million dollars.
In presenting a budget overview to city councillors last night, Board Chair, Mary Jane Hannah, said, "This an aggressive increase of about 16-percent from last year; however, we feel that we do have some unique programs and initiatives that – alongside the increased Additional Hotel Room Tax – will allow us to meet those goals."
Of that projected revenue, the city’s grant makes up 27-percent, 55-percent is forecast to come from the AHRT, and 18-percent from other sources that include private partners, advertising sales and merchandising.
The organization’s operating expenses are pegged at just under $395-thousand for the coming year – with $97-thousand covering salaries, $63-thousand for rent, and $35-thousand for building maintenance. As an organization that promotes the city, Hannah points out marketing costs are the lion’s share of Tourism PG’s expenditures: $812-thousand dollars for the coming year.
Tourism PG kicked off the new year with the launch of a new ad campaign – ‘Take on PG’ – and community event that drew out 1400 residents. Kelly says the turnout "blew our expectations out of the water", and highlights a key focus for the year on community perception. "We’re all aware of the Maclean’s ranking for the third year in a row, and a number of other perception issues that we deal with on a regular basis."
"We felt that the opportunity was now for our organization to really ‘grab the bull by the horns’, to use a cliché, and see what we can do, in terms of moving the needle there."
Tourism PG’s overall budget is up $172-thousand dollars over 2012 as a result of the increased hotel revenues and an increase in community partnerships that will leverage extra funds.
Comments
One wonders if marketing costs relating to media are tied to friendly media to the city of PG political agenda (or is there a level of free enterprise equal opportunity for these tax dollars), and if not than how exactly do they measure success for the marketing dollars spent… and is success measured for insider individual tourism partners, or for the city image as a whole?
Also how much of marketing dollars is spent on doing trade shows and what not where travel expenses get written off as marketing expenses?
” The organization’s operating expenses are pegged at just under $395-thousand for the coming year-with $97-thousand covering salaries”
Tourism PG has a full-time staff of six. I find it hard to believe that 6 full-time staff are sharing $97,000. $97,000 is probably just what CEO Aidan Kelly makes.
Your right middle finger. Their numbers dont add up.
If you show $297,000.00 for salaries, $63,000.00 for rent, and $35,000.00 for building maintenance, you get $ 395,000.00. Which would mean $297,000.00 for salaries for 6 people.
That would certainly be more believable. $97,000 for the CEO and about $40,000 each for the rest of the staff to teach the CEO about tourism.
middle finger on February 7 2013 8:56 AM
That would certainly be more believable. $97,000 for the CEO and about $40,000 each for the rest of the staff to teach the CEO about tourism.
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Those numbers seem incredibly low. I wonder if it’s possible to see their salaries since they are funded by the public.
What a dream.
Cheers
The real question is, what are they planning to do with the increased revenue and will it make any difference?
I see more promotional trips, brochures, websites, and social media campaigns in our future.
$327 thousand dollars is a lot of money for telling folks that here in PG you can only “eat here and get gas”. All or most magazines, travel brochures, et al have everywhere else in BC showcased but never Prince George. Skiing in Smithers. Barkerville near Quesnel. Jasper east of us. And the road to Alaska north of us. Prince George is NOT a destination for tourists. Never has, never will. Drive from one end of town to the other. Bad roads, bad air, poor and sad potholed streets and roads.. A sign just past Domano for southbound “tourists” denoting “Southridge Drive” instead of Walmart. I’m sure the travel brochures say to get to Walmart jut read the sign saying Southridge. Tourism? It is to laff. Despite all these shortcomings, I would not choose to live anywhere else. It might be the people here, the abscence of mega traffic. and it ain’t overcrowded Vancouver or the Okanagan. But that’s me. When the town of PG starts using helicopters to tell me which way to get home, I might consider moving.
Harbinger, I agree with most of what you’re saying except for the “never will” part. For starters, why wouldn’t we want PG to be a destination for tourists? Are we too good for tourism dollars? Tourists go to places that have beauty and recreation – why the hell wouldn’t we want that for our town?
The Tourist Bureau has to give an illustration to Council (or the Province) of how the proposed use of the funds generated by the Additional Hotel Room Tax will contribute to an overall increase n tourism revenue.
Hopefully we will get to see this report on an annual basis, and if they cannot show any substantial increase then they should **deep six** the tax.
The AHRT has to be renewed every five years.
Personally I see this as another example of Prince George gouging their customers.
The tax is assessed on everyone who stays in a hotel room, hence the name hotel room tax, however all the funds are given to the Tourism Bureau even though most people who stay in hotels would be there on business, going to the hospitals, coming to town to shop etc;, and would not be tourists in the real sense of the word.
If one were to take the $660,000.00 generated by this tax each year and assume that the 2% tax would average $1.60 per room. Then we are looking at 412,500 people per year, or 1130 people per nite 365 days per year. Thats assuming that they are assessing the maximum 2% tax.
So we all know (or should know) that there is no way in hell that we get that many tourists per day to Prince George. So this tax is actually generated from the general public at large under the guise of tourism.
This is a tax on business people, and consumers.
We may as well set up a toll gate on all the entrances into the City and charge a toll.
Pr George will never grow up as a City if it continues to be seen as a breeding place for gougers.
Palopu: “The tax is assessed on everyone who stays in a hotel room, hence the name hotel room tax, however all the funds are given to the Tourism Bureau even though most people who stay in hotels would be there on business, going to the hospitals, coming to town to shop etc;, and would not be tourists in the real sense of the word.”
I can’t believe you’re still beating this drum.
JohnnyBelt. Beleive it. I am. This is gouging pure and simple. Most of this money will be spent on advertising, brochures,, etc; and will make very little or no difference to tourism in Prince George.
All these two bit taxes, are for the ehancement of those who collect and spend the money, and has little to do with the over all running of the City.
Half the business’s in Prince George would go broke if it wasnt for the out of town shoppers, so why tax them???
$600,000.00 that is pissed away by the Touris Bureau, is $600,000.00 that could have gone into the local economy.
Well I couldnt believe it when they told us that hotel room tax was added to a room. We need to lower the cost of hotel rooms to attract tourists.
And why would anyone stop in PG. Just imagine driving up Victoria after just having viewed those junk buildings along 1st Ave. Or going through our City on Centeral. Why would anyone stop to view or do “What”
Cheers
Palopu, Hotel taxes / destination levys are not unique to PG. As a matter of fact, PG is probably one of the last towns in BC to implement them.
If there’s no stomach to close TourismPG’s doors entirely, I’d rather that it be funded this way than through PG resident’s tax dollars.
If a 2% Hotel tax is going to stop you from staying at a hotel here, you couldn’t afford it in the first place.
‘Tourism Prince George’ is an oxymoron. This place is a either a fly-over or a gas stop. There is nothing here that isn’t in a thousand much more pleasant places.
Krusty, beauty and recreation? Well, we have a water slide at Esthers Inn, a small train with dithering funding, a nice but inadequate museum, and we have flower pots every spring hanging over our highway. Don’t take into account first impressions tourists have when they come to town along First Avenue. Nor from the west of town with beautiful landscaping au naturel. Admire the sand piles up the Hart as you leave. Watch the hill across from the jail move like a glacier. How about bragging about driving on a $18 million dollar road up to our university? Imagine sending a postcard home to tell the folks you drove on a short stretch of a $18 million dollar road. Wow! Would they be impressed!!
“Krusty, beauty and recreation? Well, we have a water slide at Esthers Inn, a small train with dithering funding, a nice but inadequate museum, and we have flower pots every spring hanging over our highway. Don’t take into account first impressions tourists have when they come to town along First Avenue. Nor from the west of town with beautiful landscaping au naturel. Admire the sand piles up the Hart as you leave. Watch the hill across from the jail move like a glacier. How about bragging about driving on a $18 million dollar road up to our university? Imagine sending a postcard home to tell the folks you drove on a short stretch of a $18 million dollar road. Wow! Would they be impressed!!”
Sorry, Harbinger, but I assumed you could read between the lines and see that I was suggsting that we make changes to PG so it BECOMES a tourist desitination, not it alredy is.
Johnny Belt. A 2% tax would not stop anyone from going to a hotel. If your from out of town and driving, its not like you have much choice.
I know that **Monkey see, Monkey do** Prince George is one of the last Citys to get on the room tax bandwagon, however thats doesnt mean diddly squat.
If you would care to read how the Hotel tax is to be dispursed, you would see that it cant be used to fund any programs that are already in place.
This money has to be spent on new programs, and they need to show how much additional revenue it generated for Tourism Prince George. What this means is that we (taxpayers) will continue to fund Tourism Prince George at the present level, and Tourism Prince George will get an additional $600,000.00 per year to spend in other Cities and foreign lands.
So there you have it.
Incidently. If you come from Burns Lake every two weeks with a family of four and spend two days in a hotel in Prince George, this would cost you an additional $80/90 dollars per year.(Assuming an $80.00 room. Dont forget that in addition to this Additional Hotel Room Tax, there is also a 8% Hotel room tax. So we have a room tax, and an ADDITIONAL HOTEL ROOM TAX.
Get it?? In addition to the 8%.
Referring to it as a 2% tax on a room, is misleading, much the same as the Aiport Authority having a $20.00 Airport Improvement Fee. Doesnt seem like much, but if you fly to Vancouver every couple of weeks it would cost you an additional $500.00 per year.
There are many more examples of how people in Prince George, and those who come in from outlying areas get gouged, however I will not go into it at this time.
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