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TOFINO – Tofino will receive $3.5 million over the next five
years through an agreement signed with the Province today under the B.C. Resort
Municipality Initiative, allowing it to invest a portion of provincial hotel
room tax revenue in local resort-oriented projects and programs, Community
Services Minister Ida Chong announced.
“This latest agreement, the tenth
to date with the Province, will provide funding for a multi-use trail and
path system, upgrade public beach access points and help construct a civic
centre and museum, built to Silver LEED requirements, featuring elements of
Tofino’s First Nations and maritime history,” said Chong. “By investing in
Tofino, and other resort-based areas in B.C., we are helping create vibrant,
sustainable communities which in turn provide tourism, jobs and economic
development opportunities for all British Columbians.”
Funds will also be used to help revitalize downtown Tofino, build
a municipal campground, complete the Ahkmahksis water reservoir, add pedestrian
and cycling pathways, create a mountain bike park and construct the Light House
Trail to connect Tonquin Beach to Middle Beach and Mackenzie Beach. This unique
trail will take users through old-growth forest and along the spectacular
coastal headlands.
As a result of these investments
over the next five years, Tofino expects to see a 25 per cent increase in
shoulder and off-season hotel occupancy rates and a 20 per cent increase in
local employment during the off season.
“This agreement will help us to not
only draw in more tourists during our key summer months, but also attract
visitors in the shoulder and off seasons,” said Tofino Mayor John
Fraser. “This will help showcase Tofino’s natural beauty to tourists from all
parts of the globe and gives us confidence that we can make a notable
contribution to meeting the Premier’s goal of doubling tourism in this
province.”
Under the program, an eligible
community receives a share of the provincial hotel room tax, an amount based on
a formula that takes into account the level of tourist accommodation in the
community, relative to other B.C. communities. To be eligible, municipalities
must have tourism-based economies or be designated as a “mountain resort
municipality” under the Local Government Act.
Communities must be prepared to put
in place an additional two per cent hotel room tax, prepare a resort
development strategy that reflects the input of stakeholders and enter into a
five-year results-based tourism development agreement that sets out what will
be achieved through this tax transfer.
Ucluelet and Tofino are the latest
communities to reach an agreement with the Province. To date, Whistler,
Golden, Rossland, Harrison Hot Springs, Radium Hot Springs, Kimberley, Osoyoos,
Revelstoke and Valemount have reached signed agreements; two other
municipalities are currently eligible to enter into agreements: Fernie and
Invermere. The B.C.
Resort Municipality
Initiative is part of the Province’s ongoing commitment to meeting the goal of
doubling B.C. tourism by 2015.
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contact:
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Ministry of Community
Services
250 387-4089
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For more information on government services or to
subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s
website at www.gov.bc.ca.
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7 comments:
so wheres the civic center and museum?
It would seem that tourism is down 20% since 2008.Something has gone wrong.
maybe we should invite Ida Chong back to show her what we have done with the monies
9:55AM - Yes, something has gone wrong, but there are no local the fractional reserve banking system is failing. Fiat currencies are failing. The EU experiment is failing. Tofino doesn't exist in a bubble, but is part of a very corrupt and complicated world.
9:55AM - Yes, something has gone wrong. The fractional reserve banking system is failing. Fiat currencies are failing. The EU experiment is failing. Oil production has peaked, Tofino doesn't exist in a bubble, but is part of a very corrupt and complicated world. We need some better long term planners here.
we dont need more planning, we need more results.
sorry to be a wet blanket. one can plan and plan and plan and use data wisely and still have nothing happen at the end or something completely unplanned occur.
thats reality.
you can buy all the sunscreen and beach toys you like but it wont effect the weather here.
We need planning, its just the type of planning being done for Tofino these days is starting to pit the tourists first and locals last. Tourism is down 20% because Tofino has got more expensive to visit, which becomes very hard on middle class families to vacation to here. That takes away a decent amount of revenue from tourism.
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