Friday, January 25, 2013

Original RMI Announcement from 2008


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  NEWS RELEASE 
For Immediate Release
2008CS0073-000887
June 10, 2008
Ministry of Community Services

TOFINO TO BENEFIT FROM NEW REVENUE-SHARING AGREEMENT


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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Media
contact:
Marc Black
Ministry of Community Services
250 387-4089

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.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

so wheres the civic center and museum?

Anonymous said...

It would seem that tourism is down 20% since 2008.Something has gone wrong.

Anonymous said...

maybe we should invite Ida Chong back to show her what we have done with the monies

Anonymous said...

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.

Anonymous said...

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.

Anonymous said...

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.

Anonymous said...

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.