Kelowna Daily Courier Staff 2009-10-26
Kelowna city council will be reminded today of the importance of tourism to the region‘s economy. The hospitality trade is the second-largest employer, after health care, providing about 5,100 full-time jobs. The 1.2 million people who visit Kelowna annually spend $346 million. Tourism Kelowna, which works to draw even more visitors to the city, has yearly revenues of about $2.2 million, 60 per cent of which come from the two per cent hotel-room tax.
There is some concern among Tourism Kelowna executives that the introduction of the harmonized sales tax next year could pave the way for the elimination of the room tax. Provincial officials have said such room taxes can be charged in Kelowna and 39 other B.C. cities, including Penticton, until 2011, but it‘s not known what will happen after that. During a presentation to a provincial finance committee last week, Tourism Kelowna chief executive officer Nancy Cameron appealed for retention of the hotel-room tax.
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