ARICHAT: The Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) has partially withdrawn from the island-wide marketing levy, resulting in Destination Cape Breton needing to adjust its budget by $312,000.
The deduction comes from revenue generated to attract tourists to the region.
During recent council meetings across Cape Breton, Terry Smith, CEO of Destination Cape Breton, informed council members and staff that as of June 10, CBRM decided to retain 50 per cent of the marketing levy funds collected within its jurisdiction to establish its own events initiative.
“So, we weren’t in favour of this decision, however the decision has been made,” Smith said.
As a result, Destination Cape Breton has had to reduce event activities and operational expenses to accommodate the $312,000 budget adjustment.
The Cape Breton Island Marketing Levy is a three per cent charge applied to all fixed-roof accommodations, including short-term rentals registered under the Tourist Accommodations Registration Act. Accommodations collect the levy from guests and remit the funds to their respective municipalities, which then forward the funds to Destination Cape Breton for tourism promotion across the island.
With CBRM retaining half of its levy, four other municipalities in Cape Breton continue to remit the full amount of their collected funds to Destination Cape Breton.
“The decision of one municipality should not impact the tourism in the other four municipalities,” Smith stated during a Richmond County council meeting on Sept. 9. “So, we’re focused on ensuring that is the case, so none of your industry is going to be impacted by those cuts.”
Councillor Brian Marchand asked Smith how much of Destination Cape Breton’s operations are funded through the marketing levy.
“It’s about 80 per cent of our total operating budget,” Smith replied.
Smith emphasized that the organization’s goal is not only to attract more visitors to Cape Breton but also to encourage longer stays, which would increase tourism revenue.
“We’re doing both, but if we just stayed with the same number of people we attract and get them to stay a day longer it will have a significant impact,” he said.
At Port Hawkesbury’s council meeting on Sept. 16, Councillor Blaine MacQuarrie sought clarification regarding the major events and activities that were cut.
Smith explained that the position dedicated to events would not be filled and the associated budget for attracting events has been eliminated.
“So that’s activities we won’t be doing anymore,” he said.
During the Port Hawkesbury presentation, Smith was asked if local businesses were impacted by the summer fire ban. He referenced TNT Outdoor Adventures as being “certainly impacted.”
“So, we have been advocating for support for those who have been disproportionately affected by the woods ban,” Smith added.