Tourism in Richmond will get a financial boost on July 1 this year, with the introduction of a three per cent hotel room tax, an increase from the current two per cent rate.
The new tax rate was jointly agreed to by the City of Richmond, Tourism Richmond and the Richmond Hotel Association and will fund new initiatives promoting Richmond as a tourist destination.
The city has been partnering with Tourism Richmond and the Richmond Hotel Association to implement a new tourism development model, with investments in destination product development and destination marketing.
The new hotel tax agreement runs for five years and is expected to generate in excess of $21 million over its duration. The money generated from the hotel tax will support:
- Destination marketing by Tourism Richmond;
- The Richmond Sport Hosting Program;
- Destination enhancements for the Olympic Experience at the Richmond Olympic Oval and Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site and
- Tourism product development and sales by the Richmond Hotel Association.
Richmond is a growing tourism centre with 23 hotels offering 4,500 rooms.
Local hotel revenues registered an all-time high of $186 million in 2016, a 12 per cent increase over 2015 and Richmond had the highest hotel occupancy in Canada, at 83 per cent, as of November 2016.
The Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) is legislated under the Provincial Sales Tax Act and jointly administered by the B.C. Ministry of Finance, the B.C. Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Destination British Columbia.
The tax can be up to three per cent and is applied to sales of accommodation in participating areas of British Columbia.
“The increase in funding is welcome and will help us further put Richmond on the map as a must-visit destination for those coming to Canada,” said Eda Koot, chair, Tourism Richmond.
“With the arrival of our new CEO, Bruce Okabe, and the refocusing of some of our programs, the funding timing could not have worked out better.”
