From the Niagara Falls Review:
Public financing of Niagara Falls Tourism has been a point of contention at city budget deliberation time for years – although it appears the group might get a warmer reception at council this year, despite the fact it wants more taxpayer money…
Many tourism operators in the city have been using a destination marketing fee over the past few years – essentially an additional tax – to raise extra money. Council has been told the $35 million in private investment toward the new convention centre has been collected through the marketing fee. That’s good to finally hear.
Still it would be nice for taxpayers to see an audit of this program.
I totally agree! I think the DMF (destination marketing fee) is a big scam. The hotels don’t have to account for it at all. It is taxable itself, which shows it isn’t a real tax (that’s why it’s called a fee). The hotels are getting an extra 3% revenue that they are supposed to use for marketing, but there is no way to confirm that it is actually being used for that. I also highly doubt that $35 million of the DMF has been invested in the new convention centre. If this DMF is really for promoting Niagara Falls, then why not submit that money directly to Niagara Falls Tourism so the city doesn’t have to give more taxpayer money to them?
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I’m with you 100% Graham, it’s pure greed at hand!
I am employed by a hotel in Niagara Falls, and I can tell you that the money our hotel has collected is indeed being used to fund a convention centre and to market this area and our hotel. And although I cannot vouch for the other hotel…where do you think this $35 million dollars came from then? Did it ever occur to you that there might be a very good reason that the hotels have not “handed over” this money to Niagara Falls Tourism, and that it might have something to do with the past performance of Niagara Falls Tourism, and their lack of financial accountability? Finally, it surprises me that the residence of Niagara Falls are so concerned with this DMF Fee. They don’t pay it. It is not an additional charge to them. It is a fee that is paid primarily by visitors to help us to continue to promote and enhance the area. Local residence would never be charged it, unless they reserve a hotel room, and even then, it is often not charged to local residence. The comment “it would be nice for tax payers to see an audit of the program” is unjustified.
I don’t know how exactly to respond…
If Hospitality Worker does work at a hotel, then apparently he or she is blind to the problems in the city.
A couple of points…
If there was a problem with Niagara Falls Tourism, then it is more likely that the hotels participating in it have problems.
The DMF is revenue, plain and simple. It’s not a tax as it is often made out to be. If locals have problems, then it is safe to assume the tourists have the same problem with it. If that, in turn, affects whether people return, then tax payers wanting an audit of the program is certainly justified.
Why does this industry feel the need to add additional fees to their products? When I purchase any other product, the company has already built into the cost of the product marketing initiatives. Why can’t this industry do the same thing?