Quesnel, like Williams Lake and 100 Mile, could soon have a hotel tax but is going to go a different route.
Mayor Bob Simpson says the Municipal Regional District Tax, as it is known, can go to an assigned agency like the Cariboo Coast Chilcotin Tourism Association or directly to local government.
He says they are chosing the second option…
“That will allow us to partner with the CCCTA for destination tourism, but it will give us more control over the tax revenue for actual direct marketing for community events and tournaments, working with not for profits to make sure that we get people staying in our local hotels.”
Simpson says Quesnel is also unique from the rest of the Cariboo Regional District…
“The rest of the Cariboo Regional District and municipalities in the Regional District both have hotels that kind of blend across the municipal border. In the case of Quesnel, all of the hotels are actually within the municipal boundaries.”
Simpson says it is a voluntary tax so they need to get 51 percent of the hotels and 51 percent of the beds on board before it can go ahead.
He says they hope to have an application into the Provincial Government by the spring so that the tax can go ahead in the fall.
Simpson says they estimate that it can bring in between 90 and 110 thousand dollars annually to promote the area.