June 5, 2016
Budget 2016 Supports Tourism with Increased Funding
– – –Minister Attends Tourism Roundtable Meeting in Churchill
CHURCHILL—Manitoba’s new government will boost support for tourism through a $3.4-million increase in grants for tourism marketing and development, Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Cliff Cullen announced here today.
“Tourism is a vital part of our economy and creates jobs in the tourism and hospitality sector, and attracts significant spending by visitors to Manitoba,” Cullen said. “We want to support this industry and ensure its continued growth as part of our plan to correct the province’s course through our budget commitments.”
At a roundtable meeting with tourism industry representatives, the minister confirmed Manitoba is committed to providing tourism funding through the 96-4 funding model supported by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and tourism sector. Under the model, the province would keep 96 per cent of tourism tax revenue and the remaining four per cent would be invested in tourism marketing and development. This year, Travel Manitoba will receive a funding increase of $3.125 million and an additional $272,000 will be added to the department’s tourism grant programs.
“We want to continue expanding the strong brand Manitoba has developed through attractions like the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Journey to Churchill and world-class sporting events such as the NHL’s outdoor classic hockey game to be held in Winnipeg later this year,” said Colin Ferguson, CEO, Travel Manitoba. “Continued support from the province for tourism marketing is a solid investment that will bring significant returns in terms of tax revenue, jobs and new opportunities for tourism businesses and entrepreneurs.”
Recently released data from Statistics Canada shows Manitoba is visited by 11 million tourists a year, and those visitors spend $1.6 billion throughout the province. Visitor spending increased three per cent for each of 2013 and 2014.
The minister also invited Manitobans to become more familiar with their province through the Eco Explore program. Already up and running for the 2016 season, the Eco Explore program encourages people to visit participating sites with interactive, hands-on learning experiences. They can also enter a contest by sharing photos from the visit on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #ecoexplore. Find out more at www.ecoexploremb.com.
- 30 -