A cash advance a half-decade ago has paid off big time for the city. Tourism Kamloops presented Mayor Peter Milobar with a cheque for $150,000 on Tuesday (March 30), the final payment of a $500,000 loan. Though it was somewhat of a symbolic gesture, the organization has paid back all the money it borrowed from the city when it was created five years ago. It was money Jeremy Deutsch - Kamloops This Week Published: April 01, 2010 12:00 PM
Tourism Kamloops CEO Lee Morris said the organization always planned to repay. “The fact they [city] believed in us in the beginning, it’s really important,” she said. The repayment is also a sign of just how successful Tourism Kamloops has been over the last five years. Between 2005 and 2008, hotel and accommodation numbers in the city grew by more than $9 million, to $56 million from $47 million in revenue. Tourism Kamloops uses accommodation revenue from hotels to calculate its growth numbers. Some of the more successful campaigns have included using the face of Kamloops native and TV personality Mark Madryga and positioning the city as a premier golf destination. Morris said the success of the tourism industry is having a big impact on the city, pointing to growth not seen in other economic sectors. As for 2010, Tourism Kamloops predicts a rebound year that could see a three per cent increase in hotel revenue. While it would still be considered soft, Morris believes a post-Olympic boom in the coming years will restore revenue growth to pre-recession levels.
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