By Karie Dufour
Downtown hoteliers say the provincial tourism minister’s lack of support is not a roadblock in their fight for a hotel tax they say is needed to boost the capital’s tourism-promotion budget.
John Cosentino, president of the Ottawa Hoteliers de l’Outaouais Inc says, “That’s his position today, but we’re hopeful to work out a solution and to work with the minister.”
He said his organization, which represents many local hotels, will continue lobbying its case.
Victor Ferreira, general manager of the Delta Ottawa Hotel and Suites agrees the minister’s comments don’t mean an end to the issue.
“It makes you think harder, I don’t get discouraged,” he says.
The Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority is urging the province to introduce legislation that will allow the city to levy a hotel tax.
The move would increase the tax for hotel rooms from five to eight per cent, with additional revenue going solely toward marketing the city as a tourist destination. In a recent visit to Ottawa, Ontario tourism minister Frank Klees indicated he will not support the tax.
John Jarvis, general manager of the Westin Hotel, said when he spoke with Klees, it was apparent to him the new minister was not aware of all the issues.
Jarvis says a hotel tax for tourism promotion is common throughout the rest of Canada and the United States, putting Ottawa at a competitive disadvantage as a tourist destination.
Ottawa’s tourism authority has a budget of about $4 million this year. In Vancouver, the figure is $10.5 million, with 85 per cent of this coming from a hotel tax in place since 1988.
“Ontario has first rate facilities, but second rate marketing,” says Jarvis.
Jim Watson, head of the Canadian Tourism Commission, says Montreal is another city that has flourished since injecting more money into tourism promotion. He says Ottawa is simply looking to bring the tax up to a standard level.
“The government doesn’t want to be seen as raising any type of fees,” says Watson.
The absence of Winterlude from a map of Canadian winter festivals in a New Yorker tourism supplement could be symptomatic of this lack of funding.
Last year, warm temperatures meant big losses for some downtown merchants during the capital’s annual winter celebration.
Some merchants say because most visitors to Winterlude come from Canada, they aren’t worried about another bad year. However, they say Ottawa could benefit from more marketing.
Grant Hooker, founder of Beavertails Inc., said that Winterlude accounts for one third of his Ottawa business. He said he thinks the festival is well promoted, but that when it comes to marketing anything, there’s always room for improvement.
Jantine Van Kregten, executive director of the Byward Market Business Improvement Area, said she isn’t worried because the New Yorker supplement was just one of many promotional opportunities.
“The OTCA does a great job, but they’re pulled in different directions,” she says.
Fayez Thawer, general manager of the Days Inn on Rideau Street, isn’t too worried about Winterlude or the minister’s lack of support. He says it isn’t surprising because the government rarely acts in the interest of the hotel industry.
“I’m more concerned about the long term effects if we don’t come out of this rut that we’re in.”