WHISTLER SIGNS FIRST RESORT REVENUE SHARING AGREEMENT

VICTORIA – The community of Whistler will be able to attract more visitors and offer residents and tourists a wide range of new and better amenities as a result of the new Resort Municipality Revenue Sharing agreement signed today with the Province, announced Community Services Minister Ida Chong. The agreement – the first in a series of such agreements – is expected to be worth an estimated $35 million over five years.

“We welcome Whistler as the first signatory under the Resort Municipality Revenue Sharing Program, and look forward to this being the start of a mutually beneficial long-term partnership,” said Chong. “Vibrant, sustainable resort-based communities across B.C. – whether small or large – provide tourism and economic development opportunities.”

Under the revenue sharing program, Whistler will invest in a range of programs and projects, including enhancing the village host and visitor information programs, holding cultural celebrations, adding to the trails network, and building employee housing and infrastructure. These investments are guided by the strategic priorities of Whistler2020, ensuring social and environmental sustainability, and a healthy economy.

“We are very pleased to be the first among the BC Resort Collaborative to sign this agreement,” said Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed. “The revenue sharing program is a valuable tool that will provide a long-term, stable resource for tourism development. It will enable Whistler to capitalize on a range of tourism opportunities as they emerge and provides us with the flexibility we need to remain competitive in an ever-changing global marketplace.”

In total, an estimated $10 million annually in provincial hotel room tax will be transferred to participating municipalities through the Resort Municipality Revenue Sharing Program for local projects that can include such things as street or park improvements, festivals or amenities to increase all-season resort opportunities.

To be eligible, municipalities must have tourism 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, and enter into a five-year results-based tourism development agreement that sets out what will be achieved through revenue sharing.

Twelve other municipalities are currently eligible to enter into agreements. They are: Fernie, Golden, Harrison Hot Springs, Invermere, Kimberley, Osoyoos, Radium Hot Springs, Revelstoke, Rossland, Tofino, Ucluelet and Valemount.

“This revenue sharing program came out of the recommendations of the B.C. Resort Task Force, which was formed in 2003,” said Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Stan Hagen. “The program is a vital part of our strategy to eliminate barriers to resort development and expansion and to meet Premier Campbell’s goal of doubling B.C. tourism by 2015.”

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1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:	Marc Black Ministry of Community Services 250 356-6334

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