City Supports Boosting Hotel Tax
Prince George, B.C.- Visitors to Prince George may have to spend a little extra for a hotel room next year.
The City is backing boosting the current hotel room tax from 2% to 3%.
Erica Hummel of Prince George Tourism says of that 1% boost, .2% would be put towards provincial sport tourism which is used to attract larger events to British Columbia. But Councillor Brian Skakun says he’s “really challenged” because that .2% won’t be staying in Prince George “But you have my tentative support going forward.”
Overall, the 1% hike would add about $400 thousand dollars a year to the P.G. Tourism budget.
How would that translate to a traveller? Hummel says it would add about a dollar a day to the cost of their accommodation.
But it will take a few hoops to jump through before it is approved. The application for the increase has to be supported by 51% of the accommodation property owners, representing 51% of available rooms in the City.
Tourism Prince George wants to spend more money on targeting bids for major sporting events and on conferences and conventions.
Councillors unanimously approved moving forward with the application.
If approved, the new tax would take effect July1st of 2017.
Comments
Visitors to Prince George are for the most part from West of Prince George, ie; Vanderhoof, Ft St James, Fraser Lake, Endako, Burns Lake, Engen, etc; etc; etc;. Plus we have visitors from Macleod Lake, MacKenzie, and to some degree from Quesnel.
These people are NOT tourists. They are customers who come to Prince George to shop, buy cars, attend sporting events, meetings, etc; and are in fact a part of the larger area of the Interior of BC.
To be taxing these people under the guise of being tourists is absolute BS. Then to take the money to fund the tourist bureau that used to get its funding from the City even makes it worse. When the 2% came in the City reduced funding to Prince George Tourism, and the money (something like $350,000.00) went into General Revenue.
To tax someone because they need to stay in a hotel overnight is bogus. The City and the Tourist Bureau should be ashamed of themselves.
When you consider that some people come to town every week, and some every two weeks, and get one or two hotel rooms, then you begin to see that it is not just an increase of $1.00,. It could be an increase of $2.00 per night for two nights, times 26 weeks for $104.00 per year.
Welcome to Prince George! Come visit us! Come stimulate our economy! Come spend your hard earned dollars!
Oh, but before you spend any of your hard earned dollars, how about we dip into your wallet and help ourselves to a few more of them first!
Generally when we make the trip for big ticket items ie cars and trucks a couple of bucks extra on the hotel rooms is not even pocket change . If it helps keep the place clean it’s well worth it . Next time we’ll make sure to use a woman sales person . Making sure the commission does end up in the wrong hands .
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on a second there Ataloss!
What are you talking about? You making a trip for big ticket items ie cars and trucks?
I thought that you used public transportation? Either that or you walked or rode a bike! Aren’t you against the use of fossil fuels?
Why on earth would you need a truck, let alone a car?
For shame Ataloss, for shame! ;-)
Doesn’t end up in the wrong hands .
We shall also use the same strategy with our next real estate deal just in case you’re an agent or broker and anything else we buy . Lesson learnt . I always vote with my dollar .
Comments for this article are closed.