With the District of Squamish currently carrying more than half a million dollars in bank loans for the Squamish Sustainability Corporation, council is being asked to incorporate the arm's length organization's financial requirements into the 2008 budget.
The group currently relies on such ventures as stores sales, ticket sales and renting out the Adventure Centre for income. But with no profits projected for the next five years, the SSC is seeking inclusion into the district's budget by proposing a steady stream of funding through the district's business licence fees or a new hotel tax.
On Tuesday (Oct. 22) SSC representatives attended a strategy session to update council on its projects and spending. According to a five-year projection in the SSC report, the group will continue to have a shortfall each year, although store sales have begun to rise, increasing 12 per cent from 2006 to 2007 from $143,153 to a projected $161,939.
But in its first and second year, visitor numbers fell about 60 per cent short of what was projected. The proposed hotel tax could be the solution.
SSC employee Dan McRae described the perks of the two per cent levy.
"It's an attractive piece of long-term funding because the visitor pays."
SSC representatives have spoken with each hotelier in town about the tax and have seen "good conditional support," said McRae.
The money from the hotel tax would go toward a destination marketing organization known as Tourism Squamish. It would include members throughout the community from First Nations people to educators to retail storeowners.The SSC is hosting a half-day workshop with stakeholders on Nov. 28 to refine the hotel tax.
"By the end of the year, we should have a really good idea of how we can get a hotel tax," McRae said.
Coun. Mike Jenson said with the hotel tax in place, the SSC would only need a small subsidy from the district.
"The real message is the taxpayer's paying for it regardless of if it's funded by loan guarantees or business license fees," said Jenson in a follow-up interview with The Chief.
He said the Adventure Centre would also begin generating greater profits once an entry point off the highway is built in 2008.The SSC also took the opportunity on Tuesday to present some of the work accomplished in the last year.
One of its most impressive achievements was a new Tourism Squamish website set to launch Friday (Oct. 26) that makes planning a trip to Squamish as easy as buying a book on Amazon.com.
Councillors got a sneak peek at the website where visitors can click on adventure packages, hotel stays, and several other services, and then drop them into a shopping cart.
This information is sent back to staff at the Adventure Centre who then sends a pricing list back to the prospective visitor. Once a plan is established, the Adventure Centre books the trip, creating a custom package and schedule for the tourist.The SSC has also hosted product knowledge sessions to inform front-line Adventure Centre staff about Squamish businesses.
They have launched several advertising campaigns to attract people to Squamish through publications such as BC Business Magazine and Granville Magazine.
