Sunshine Coast Tourism January 2020 Update Who We Are Sunshine Coast Tourism (SCT) is a non-profit association, specifically a destination marketing organization (DMO). Our job is to promote the entire region of British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast as a premier travel destination to the rest of the world, from Howe Sound to Desolation Sound. Our team creates bold, inspiring and engaging marketing campaigns that motivate visitors to plan their trip to the Sunshine Coast and work diligently in creating brand awareness and advocacy for the region as a whole. We are led by a volunteer Board of Directors and managed by a team of six passionate and dedicated staff. We are supported by more than 250+ members which encompass all facets of business within the region’s tourism industry. As a non-profit, we are supported by our stakeholder membership, as well as our local, provincial, and Indigenous governments, who all see the value of growing the tourism economy and our ability to unite together to market the Sunshine Coast in a way that no one business could achieve individually. Our Mission Sunshine Coast Tourism’s mission is to build a strong and sustainable tourism economy on the Sunshine Coast consistent with the values of residents. Sunshine Coast Tourism will: ● Promote BC’s Sunshine Coast to leisure and business travellers as a year-round destination in targeted markets through strategic, research-based marketing strategies. ● Facilitate the continuing evolution of the Sunshine Coast as a top-of-mind destination. ● Increase awareness of the value, contribution and importance of tourism among the government, population and businesses along the Sunshine Coast. SCT Board of Directors 2019 - 2020 Executive ● President - ​Jack Barr​, ​Beach Gardens/Town Centre Hotel ○ Large Accommodation, North Coast ● Vice President -​ Christine Hollmann, Terracentric Coastal Adventures ○ Member at Large, North Coast ● Secretary - ​Theressa Logan, Sunshine Coast Air ○ Recreation ● Treasurer - ​Heather Newman​, ​Pointhouse Suites on Sergeant Bay ○ Large Accommodation South Coast 1 Directors ● John Hermsen, Footprint Nature Explorations ○ Member at Large, North ● Chris Greenfield, 101 Brewhouse + Distillery ○ Member at Large, South ● Jamie Mani, Alpha Adventures ○ Member at Large, South ● Linda Williams, Coast Cultural Alliance ○ Arts, Culture, & Heritage ● Chris Tait, Homfray Lodge ○ Large Accommodation, North ● Shangxuan Ma, Gibsons Garden Hotel ○ Large Accommodation, South ● TBD​ - Small Accommodations & Campgrounds SCT Staff ● Paul Kamon - Executive Director ● Annie Schroeder - Marketing Director ● Lauren Stanton-Nixdorf - Member Engagement Coordinator ● Casey-Jo Loos - Marketing & Administrative Assistant ● Wendy Wright - Gibsons Visitor Centre Manager ● Sheena Macdonald - Sechelt Visitor Centre Manager SCT Contractors ● Andrea Wickham-Foxwell - Media and Communications Director ● Tammy Williams - Bookkeeping ● Nelson Alvarez - Accountant *NOTE: SCT helps manage and administer summer students, part-time staff and volunteers for both the Gibsons and Sechelt Visitor Information Centres during the peak travel season (May-October). Funding Structure Sunshine Coast Tourism operates on a public/private funding model for its marketing budget, which pools together from ​three pillars​ of funding: 1) Local Government Investment:​ SCT receives annual funding from the Town of Gibsons, District of Sechelt, shíshálh Nation, Sunshine Coast Regional District, City of Powell River, qathet Regional District and the Tla’amin Nation. 2) Stakeholders: ​Funding is also received through local tourism stakeholders such as SCT’s membership and cooperative marketing buy-in from local business. 3) Consumer (MRDT): ​The Municipal & Regional District Tax​ is a program that collects a 2% tax levied by eligible accommodations on their guests’ room bills. This tax is paid by the guest (consumer). 2 These funds are then pooled to apply for Destination BC’s Co-operative Marketing Partnerships Program. Destination British Columbia’s Co-operative Marketing Partnerships Program Destination BC, the provincial DMO, offers an application based Co-operative Marketing Partnerships Program that provides co-operative marketing and promotion support to Regional Destination Marketing Organizations, community consortiums, sector organizations or approved paired communities in British Columbia. Each year, SCT applies to the Destination BC Co-operative Marketing Partnerships Program, which allows organizations like us to apply for $1 for $1 matched funds for approved marketing programs. For 2019/2020, we received $195,000 worth of provincial investment into our region. Since this program’s inception in 2016, SCT has been successful in its applications and has managed to secure over $1 million dollars in Provincial matched funding to help market the Sunshine Coast as a year-round tourism destination. 2019/20 Marketing Budget Sunshine Coast LOCAL GOV’T STAKEHOLDERS CONSUMER Tourism (MRDT) $82K $37K $40K Destination BC + Cooperative Marketing $195K Program SCT Marketing Budget $354K Municipal & Regional District Tax The Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) is a tax of either 2% or 3% percent on the purchase of accommodation imposed in specific geographic areas of the province (designated accommodation areas) on behalf of municipalities, regional districts or eligible entities. The money collected by this tax is remitted to the Province which is then dispersed back to the designated recipient to be used for Destination Marketing. This is the primary funding source for most tourism boards in British Columbia, and is a common program in many places throughout the world. A designated recipient is the organization that applies and is responsible to the Province for MRDT within a designated accommodation area. A designated recipient can be a municipality, a 3 regional district, or an eligible entity. An eligible entity is typically a not-for-profit society such as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), and in this case, Sunshine Coast Tourism. After a successful application submission to the Ministry of Finance, in August of 2016, all commercial accommodation providers within the qathet Regional District and the Sunshine Coast Regional District (north and south coast) with four or more rooms began collecting from consumers the 2% Municipal Regional District Tax on behalf of Sunshine Coast Tourism for regional destination marketing​ services. ● 2016 MRDT Collected: ​$134,746 (4 months only) ● 2017 MRDT Collected: ​$364,871 ● 2018 MRDT Collected: ​$357,780 ● 2019 MRDT Collected: ​$389,242 ● Total MRDT collected​ $1,189,942 (40 months) This program has a duration of 5 years and a renewal application must be filed to the Ministry of Finance 6 months before the current end date of the program. Sunshine Coast Tourism’s end date is August 1, 2021 with a ​renewal submission date of February 1, 2021. Sunshine Coast Tourism board of directors has created a MRDT Renewal Committee to focus and develop a comprehensive communication and engagement strategy to ensure the successful renewal and continuity of the SCT organization and its destination marketing mandate for the region. Marketing Sunshine Coast Tourism creates comprehensive marketing campaigns designed to promote the entire Sunshine Coast region, which consists of three municipalities (Gibsons, Sechelt, and Powell River), two regional districts (Sunshine Coast Regional District, Powell River Regional District) and four First Nations (Squamish, shíshálh, Klahoose & Tla’amin). The purpose of our campaigns is for these communities to collaborate to increase awareness and consideration of the Sunshine Coast as the premier travel destination in British Columbia. Each campaign will engage with travellers in key geographic markets such as British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, California via a variety of web, print, video, and digital content. The primary goal is to increase overnight expenditure and visitation to the region with a focus on the shoulder season, September to May. 4 Sector Marketing Sunshine Coast Tourism also partners and invests with sector group applications to Destination BC’s Cooperative Marketing Program. In 2019, SCT participated in the following sector group marketing coop programs: ● Ahoy BC​ ​- “Explore the wild, but civilized, coast of British Columbia.” AHOY BC / BC Ocean Boating Tourism Association is the destination marketing organization for marine tourism in British Columbia. ● BC Ale Trail​ ​- “Arrive Thirsty, Leave Inspired.” The BC Ale Trail is the definitive guide to British Columbia's diverse and dynamic craft beer community. ● BC Farmers Market Trail​ - ​The definitive guide to 145+ authentic farmers’ markets across British Columbia. ● Coastal Circle Route​ - The coastal circle route is a collaborative marketing campaign (Tourism Nanaimo, Comox Valley, Parksville/Qualicum and Sunshine Coast) inviting travelers to explore the coastlines, communities, & culture of Vancouver island and the Sunshine Coast. ● Sea To Sky Biking​ - “Sea to Sky Biking. Six Communities. One Hell of a Trip.” A marketing collaboration amongst mountain biking communities in British Columbia’s unrivalled Sea to Sky Region featuring the Sunshine Coast, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, South Chilcotins, and Vancouver’s North Shore. Sunshinecoastcanada.com Sunshine Coast Tourism primary call to action is via its website, ​sunshinecoastcanada.com, ​which was fully redone and rebranded in 2017. Since its 2017 launch, the new website has had over