WATERLOO, Ont. — Starting July 1 hotels Waterloo Region — which includes the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, Ont., as well as four surrounding townships — will implement a municipal accommodation tax (MAT) expected to raise $3.3 million per year for regional tourism-marketing efforts, according to CBC News.
Minto Schneider, CEO of Waterloo Regional Tourism, says that the new money — raised from a four-per-cent tax on hotels and one-per-cent tax on motels — will provide the organization with a budget that competes with other destinations in Ontario.
With a focus on bringing leisure, business and sports tourism to the region, the tax could help the area attract events — such as the Ontario Volleyball Championship — that have disappeared from the area in recent years.
Based on the average price of a room in the region (approximately $120) the MAT will add approximately $5 per night. Of the funds produced, 50 per cent of the money go to Waterloo Region Tourism Marketing Corporation, while “lower-tier municipalities” will receive about 40 per cent and the region will take 10 per cent.
