If Collingwood brought in a municipal accommodation tax, the town could be banking between $400,000 and $1 million a year to help shore up tourism locally, according to a new report.
During Monday’s strategic initiatives standing committee meeting, councillors will be considering a staff and consultant report on the possibility of Collingwood bringing in a municipal accommodation tax (MAT), and will be providing direction to staff on whether they should proceed with public consultation on such a tax and report back on findings by September.
A MAT is a tax levied on visitors who stay in commercial accommodations within a municipality, which can include hotels, bed and breakfasts and short-term rentals such as AirBnBs. This tax was introduced in Ontario in 2017 as a tool for municipalities to generate revenue for tourism-related activities and projects.
“Preliminary exploration and scoped market study indicate that the implementation of a MAT in Collingwood could have several potential benefits for the municipality,” notes the town’s manager of economic development Brennan Kenny in his report. “Choosing not to investigate the MAT could result in a missed opportunity for the municipality to generate additional revenue for tourism-related activities and projects.”
The majority of municipalities have set the tax at four per cent, however communities have flexibility to set the tax at any level they wish. Within Simcoe County, both Barrie and Orillia have a four per cent MAT in place.
The municipality is responsible for using at least 50 per cent of the revenue generated from the tax to support activities such as tourism marketing, promotion, and infrastructure development, while the remainder can be used for general municipal activities unrelated to tourism.
The town had consultants McSweeney & Associates do a preliminary investigation into the possibility for Collingwood, which was provided to the town this month.
As part of that report, the consultant determined that the town could be bringing in between $400,000 and $1 million per year through such a tax, depending on the economic scenario that year.
According to Environics Analytics data research provided by Tourism Simcoe County, Collingwood received 566,000 unique visitors to the area in 2021, accounting for approximately 3.2 million total visits.
As of today, there are approximately 890 traditional hotel and motel rooms in Collingwood across more than 15 properties.
If approved by committee and council this month, public consultation would occur through a survey of the general public and members of the tourism industry. Research and discussion would also continue with other municipalities that have implemented a MAT before Collingwood council would consider bringing in the tax.
To access the town staff report and McSweeney & Associates report to be considered by councillors on Monday, click here.
The strategic initiatives standing committee meeting will take place on Monday, April 3 at 5 p.m. Any members of the public may attend in person in council chambers at Collingwood town hall, or virtually by Zoom webinar. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the town’s YouTube channel here.
