Destination Cape Breton is looking at making amendments to their marketing levy. The levy is a fee that is charged on fixed roof accommodations on the island that have ten or more rooms. The organization uses the funds to help grow the island as a tourist destination. They want to raise the levy fee from two percent to three percent and to have the levy apply to all fixed roof accommodations including short term rentals. Part of the reason behind this is due to decreased funding for the operation.
“We had federal funding that is gradually being reduced, what we are seeing is that there is a greater share of the market that is being taking by AIRBNB and VRBO properties that are not charging the levy, but they are getting the benefits of the promotions we do for the island.” Say’s Destination Cape Breton CEO Terry Smith. “For us to continue the job that we are doing in promoting the island we really need to address this reduction in funding that were faced with.”
Destination Cape Breton consulted with tourism accommodations operators on the island and the vast majority approved the idea of having a three percent levy as they saw the need for funding for Destination Cape Breton to be in place and that it should apply to all fixed roof accommodations. Representatives from the organization also conduct presentations on these proposed amendments at committee of the whole meetings for Richmond and Inverness County earlier this week.
If you provide visitor accommodations on Cape Breton Island you can provide your feedback on the proposed marketing levy amendments by filling out a survey on destinationcapebreton.ca The deadline to complete the survey is October 21st. You can find more information on the levy on the website as well.
Destination Cape Breton is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to marketing Cape Breton Island as a tourist destination.
