Tourism Charlottetown wants room levy increase

Tourism Charlottetown is asking hotels and motels to increase the room levycharged tocustomers in order to ease the organization's financial troubles.

The group currentlyreceives two-thirds of the money that comes from a two per centlevy included in the customer's bill designed to help pay for tourism marketing and promotion.

Now, it wants to raise that fee to three per cent of the room cost.

"It's pretty clear that an increase in the levy would certainly assist us in terms of going forward with the product development and marketing," said Doug Newson, president of Tourism Charlottetown.

Any Charlottetown accommodations with at least 10 rooms had to start tacking onthe levythree years ago.

Walter van Beek, the president of the Hotel Association of Prince Edward Island, said he thinks most hotels in the city would support such an increase.

"People will ask us what this particular levyis all about, and when we explain to them that it's there to support tourism and to bring new activities to the Island, by and large we get very strong support," he told CBC News on Monday.

Other operators, such as Mike van der Gaag, said it's unfair for the levyto only show up on hotel and motel bills.

"I believe that everyone who benefitsrestaurants, retailers should really have to pony up," said Gaag, who is the inn keeper of the Heritage Harbour House Inn.

"I would personally charge everyone one per cent."

Any change in the levywould need to be approved by the City of Charlottetown. Tourism Charlottetown officials saidthey will likely present a formal proposal to city council after November's municipal election.

Mayoral candidate Philip Brown said hotels and tourists shouldn't be paying the price for Tourism Charlottetown's financial woes.

"I believe the partners have to get on board, but I don't see raising the room tax as one way of solving the problem because that means every time we have a problem, we'll raise the room tax," he said.

Tourism Charlottetown took in $325,000 through the levylast year. A one per cent increase would account for an additional $200,000 per year.