Skip to content

Resort Municipality funding arrives

Funding for tourism projects in resort communities

The province of British Columbia is in the process of releasing Resort Municipality dollars to participating communities, one of which is Kimberley.

The 14 communities in the province which are designated as Resort Municipalities receive proceeds of a special hotel tax. The money must go to programs or projects which will encourage  visitors to stay longer and visit more often. Projects range from building pedestrian and mountain biking trails, boat launches, and beach improvements to holding festivals and events.

Each year, a committee struck by the City of Kimberley makes a decision on how to allocate the yearly Resort Municipality funding.

Earlier this spring, the committee decided to fund two projects for a total of $43,651.

Of that $23,651 will go to the construction of beginner and intermediate trails for a bike skills park, which the Kimberley Trails Society is planning.

And $20,000 has been allocated to assist in the building of washrooms at Purcell Park soccer fields, a project of the Kimberley Soccer Association.

In the past, Kimberley has used RMI funding to help with the building of the putting course at Riverside Campground.

Municipalities participating in the RMI program are Fernie, Golden, Harrison Hot Springs, Invermere, Kimberley, Osoyoos, Radium Hot Springs, Revelstoke, Rossland, Sun Peaks, Tofino, Ucluelet, Valemount and Whistler.

“We want to see our resort communities thriving. The Resort Municipality Initiative is designed to help improve and strengthen the economies of these tourism hot spots. It also means more jobs and ensuring visitors return to the communities for years to come,” Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour.

Since 2006, through RMI, more than $87.6 million has been invested in tourism infrastructure and programs to support local and regional tourism economies.

 



Carolyn Grant

About the Author: Carolyn Grant

I have been with the Kimberley Bulletin since 2001 and have enjoyed every moment of it.
Read more