Guelph City Council decides on tourism tax that could boost tourism | The Canadian News

City Guelph staff recommend that the council approve a lodging tax for visitors who pay to stay in the city at places like hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts and Airbnbs.

A report to the city council on Feb. 7 said the four percent levy would cost guests an extra $ 4-7 a night, but could generate up to $ 950,000 in revenue each year.

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That money will then be used for new tourism initiatives and visitor attractions along with infrastructure improvements.

“By reinvesting money earned through tourism in the industry locally, we can support more tourism-related infrastructure and programs that make visitor experiences even better,” said the city’s tourism manager, Cathy Masterson.

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“The accommodation tax will also help local businesses recover from the long-term negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting events, festivals, sports, restaurants, retail and other services, without raising property taxes.”

Similar taxes are already in place in Ontario, including Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, Kingston, Barrie and Toronto.


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The report that goes to the city council recommends that the tax be implemented from September 1st.

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It also asks the mayor and councilors to approve funding of up to $ 1 million to start tourism activities and programming, with that money being repaid to the tourism account within five years.

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After the February 4 meeting, the recommendations will return to the council on February 24 for final deliberation.

The report can be found at the city’s website.

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Reference-globalnews.ca

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