CollingwoodToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to an article about the Town of The Blue Mountains looking to implement a tourism tax, published July 8.
Tourism tax — another money grab to ‘fix’ sagging sales.
Niagara Falls has a tourism tax and, yes, it generates funds, but it has also driven many people away or has limited their stay to day trips.
The Town of The Blue Mountains had already priced itself out of the market for locals and near locals (Greater Toronto Area), hence its sagging sales last winter. True, the weather had a huge impact, but the people I know used to come to ski anyway, despite the weather, ‘get a few runs in, go for some après, have a mini-vacay.’ Not anymore. They were priced out.
A tourism tax will stop them altogether. The ‘low’ four per cent will have to keep rising to fill the coffers to the projected levels.
Corinne Bassett
Collingwood
