The Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) is keeping $312,000 of their marketing levy funds from Destination Cape Breton (DCB).
The news was shared in a recent Richmond County committee meeting by DCB’s CEO, Terry Smith.
“On June 10th, the CBRM decided to keep 50 per cent of the marketing levy funds that they collected in their jurisdiction to start their own events initiative,” says Smith.
The decision brings DCB’s marketing levy from $2 million to $1.7 million.
CBRM made the decision without consulting Destination Cape Breton, tourism industry or municipalities.
DCB was not in favour of this decision but after doing some due diligence, the board decided to accept the decision.
They will remove all major events activity and reduce operational expenses and
non-core marketing and destination development areas to try to make up the difference.
Smith says, “The decision of one municipality should not impact the tourism industry in the other four municipalities”
CBRM still projects to be the second largest contributor to the Marketing Levy funds for this fiscal year.
The largest contributor is Inverness County with the Cabot Trail.
“The woods ban has impacted some folks. We have heard that some people have received cancellations, and particularly there are some people who operate more in the woods that haven’t been able to do so,” Smith said. “What we heard in general was that there were some cancellations, but not anything major, so that was reassuring”
Making Cape Breton a travel destination
One upcoming marketing initiative to raise funds is encouraging visitors to extend the length of their stay while they travel to Cape Breton.
“It’s really about educating people that they have a lot more to visit around the island. It’s not just the Cabot Trail. There’s a lot more to visit around the island,” shared Smith.
The “Take Your Time” creative for 2026 will have a humour-focused approach.
Brand research continues and will be delivered later this month.
Sustainable tourism plan will be rolled out over the next few weeks
DCB also looks forward to collaborating with local content creators on videos to highlight and promote all over the island.
They also launched a new website that is faster and designed to be more user and AI friendly.
The website now features a content hub database and robust community sections.
