Resort Municipality Initiative explained

The Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) funding program provides an ongoing incentive based funding stream to assist resort-orientated municipalities in maintaining and growing a robust regional tourism economy. It addresses and supports the unique challenges and opportunities faced by small resort municipalities.

RMI supports the Province’s Goals of:
• Doubling tourism by 2015;
• Sustainable environmental management; and
• Job creation (especially in the tourism sector).

The RMI program is linked to the following key outcomes for resort-based communities:
• Increased resort activities and amenities;
• Increased visitor activity;
• Increased private investment;
• Increased employment in the community;
• Increased tourism component in the local economy;
• Increased municipal tax revenue; and
• Diversification of municipal tax base and revenue.
How the Program Works
Once a municipality is eligible, they must submit a Resort Development Strategy (RDS) that meets RMI program objectives. The Resort Development Strategy Guide describes the components that are required to complete the Resort Development Strategy. Once approved, funding is allocated annually.

Once the RDS has been completed, the resort municipality signs a five year agreement with the Province and funding is paid bi-annually. To understand the progress and outcomes of projects, resort municipalities report annually to the Province.
RMI is an incentive based program, annual funding is calculated with the following:

1. Based on a resort municipality’s accommodation units, a percentage value (1 to 4%) is assigned based on the following:
   
   

   Less than 450 Accommodation Units	1%
   450 to 899 Accommodation Units	2%
   900 to 1349 Accommodation Units	3%
   1350 Accommodation Units or greater	4%

   Accommodation units are defined as individual units of accommodation, with the exception of campsites, that are listed in the Accommodation Guide each year. These would include bed and breakfast rentals, hotels, motels, cabins and lodges. The percentage rate is determined by using the most recent Accommodation Guide data available to determine the total accommodation units for each resort municipality.
   
   
2. Determining the amount of accrued payments of 2% Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT), commonly known as the Additional Hotel Room Tax, paid to the resort municipality for the previous calendar year.
   
   
3. With these two variables the following formula is used to calculate payments:
   
   

   (Previous calendar year MRDT revenues) X (Percentage value based on accommodation units/2%)

   = RMI Funding Amount