The lodging tax imposed on overnight stays in tourist establishments has now been standardized across the entire province of Quebec to rise to 3.5%. Previously, each region could choose to impose on clients a flat fee or a percentage of the total amount of the rent of a hotel room.
“The now-unified tax represents an increase in revenue from the lodging tax in Quebec,” said the director of the Office of Tourism of Quebec, André Roy. “For us, it is still significant to go from 3% to 3.5%. This represents additional several hundred thousand dollars.”
The money raised will finance the Office of Tourism of Quebec, which promotes the city of Quebec, and will also finance the Alliance of the Tourism Industry in Quebec, a new non-governmental organization dedicated to the international promotion of the whole Quebec as a tourist destination.
The Office of Tourism of Quebec supports the lodging tax increase. “In Quebec, we really believe that we must work together to bring tourists to the province. Each time clients come from far away, we must work together to promote Quebec City; many of the tourists do not even know where Canada is,” commented Mr. Roy.
The Office of Tourism of Quebec will pay 15% of the total value of the lodging tax levied to the Alliance of the Tourism Industry in Quebec, a sum which would represent approximately 1.8 million dollars per year, according to André Roy. The rest of the money from lodging tax serves to market the city of Quebec as a tourist destination.