The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) heads to the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Conference for the next two days to take part in meetings with provincial government caucus members and Ministry staff, to recommend necessary enhancements to the existing Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) regulation.
TIAO brings a delegation consisting of members from the Economic Developers Council of Ontario, the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association, Kingston Accommodation Partners, Blue Mountain Village Association, Destination Northern Ontario and Town of Lincoln. The group is focused on building government support for enacting updates to the MAT regulation to allow municipalities, industry and the province to increase funding, strengthen collaboration, and address barriers.
The MAT is a tax on short term stays designed to boost Ontario’s tourism industry. The funds collected help promote and develop local tourism markets and support local economies through non property tax funding of destination marketing and management organizations and municipalities. The regulations came into effect in late 2017, and since this time roughly 50 of the 444 municipalities across the province have implemented a MAT that has contributed to local visitor economy growth.
The initial 2017 regulation represented a good starting point; however, updates are now needed to improve performance informed by learnings since implementation, dramatic market and industry changes during that time, and the emergence of global best practices in visitor-based assessments.
We recommend updating the current regulations for clarity and to stimulate more effective and efficient implementations across Ontario. A few examples of these updates include:
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Outline a formal, inclusive, and transparent rate change process.
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Reduce red tape that slows down the distribution of funds and burdensome reporting requirements.
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Ensure short term rental businesses participate.
“In 2023, the tourism sector contributed $32 billion to Ontario’s GDP and generated approximately $6 billion in annual provincial tax revenues. With MAT frameworks now active in over 50 Ontario municipalities, the success of the tourism industry is even more vital to local economies and municipal fiscal health,” said Andrew Siegwart, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, “TIAO has been working alongside industry and municipal partners to assess impacts of the regulation since implementation to identify challenges and opportunities to address in order for the MAT to most efficiently and effectively meet its objectives.”
After seven years of industry consultation and feedback, TIAO believes that now is the right time to address barriers in the current regulation. These simple updates would allow stakeholders to realize the benefits that the MAT stands to bring to communities across the province, and to help municipalities push past the challenges to ensure that the MAT can best meet its objectives of supporting the growth and development of local visitor economies.
To learn more on TIAO’s full set of recommendations, please contact Madison Simmons at msimmons@tiaontario.ca.