Council has approved the new bylaws, so the Town of Collingwood will officially be charging a tourism tax starting on March 1.
During their council meeting on Dec. 16, councillors gave final approval with no discussion for a new municipal accommodation tax (MAT), which will charge four per cent tax on all short-term rentals, hotel/motel or bed and breakfast accommodation.
“It’s great to see a major initiative like this moving forward. We appreciate all of the input we’ve received from the tourism industry and the community to make this a reality,” said the town’s economic development manager Johanna Griggs in an interview.
The move is expected to bring in between $900,000 and $1.2 million per year to the town coffers, which would then be split between the municipality (40 per cent of the revenue) and a new Collingwood-based not-for-profit third-party tourism entity (60 per cent).
The revenue the town receives through the tax will be used to help implement the town’s new tourism master plan.
“Tourism is important for the local economy and supports events and amenities that are important to our residents. That’s why the town has developed a tourism master plan to strategically direct efforts toward sustainable tourism,” said Griggs. “The MAT will provide the much-needed resources to implement the tourism master plan.”
Completed by consultant Bannikin Travel & Tourism Ltd., the plan includes not only the suggestion to create the new non-profit third-party organization to oversee tourism, but also recommends developing a system to monitor tourism impacts such as audits and annual reviews, piloting a pedestrian street program, producing a four-season visitor guide, creating a visitor kiosk, communicating regularly with tourism stakeholders and establishing a clear tourism brand for the town.
The town will now enter into a single source, non-standard procurement agreement with the Ontario Resort, Hotel and Motel Association (ORMHA) for collection of the town’s MAT for a five-year period. After the five years is up, the town will explore the option to bring the services in-house.
The new not-for-profit third-party tourism entity would establish an interim board of directors representative of key tourism industry stakeholders.
In the Town of the Blue Mountains, their new MAT is planned to go into effect on Jan. 6, 2025, also sitting at a four-per-cent tax. The Town of Wasaga Beach is currently undertaking community consultations regarding implementing a MAT in 2025.
