FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2009                                                            

YCB Members hear about Destination Marketing Fees

On January 27, members of the Yukon Convention Bureau came out to hear a presentation by John Samms, Executive Director of Tourism Canmore. The topic of discussion was the concept of the Destination Marketing Fee (DMF), a charge added to hotel bills (across North America), and which is used by Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) as a source of marketing funds. DMFs are usually calculated as a percentage of the room rate of participating hotels. Funds collected are normally held by a trust organization and turned over to the DMO in response to an approved marketing plan.

After four years of discussion, the Canmore group decided enough talking had taken place and it was time to put a local DMF in place. Canmore has a seasonal population of 15,000 – with 12,000 permanent residents. Currently 66% of all hotel rooms are included, but shortly the percentage of rooms contributing to the program will rise to 80%. The first year of the DMF yielded approximately $475,000.00

At present, the Yukon Convention Bureau receives core funding from the territorial government but also collects a limited DMF from only those hotels with whom the Bureau has an agreement, and only for those conferences where YBC is actually involved in arranging the room block. In other destinations by contrast, all hotels participating in a DMF program collect a destination marketing fee, whether rooms are for leisure travellers or meeting goers, and regardless of who does the booking.

An important point that was stressed several times, was that hoteliers do not pay the DMF, it is the guests who pay. (Next time you travel to one of the southern Canadian cities, check your room bill and you will likely find either a DMF or a hotel tax or both.) These funds are, therefore, not part of the individual hotel’s marketing budget, but rather are used to promote the destination as a whole. Although it would seem that the hoteliers are burdened with the administration of the DFM program while local tourism operators and attractions are not, attendees to this meeting were reminded that it is the attractions and activities of the region which actually bring people to stay in area hotels.

Each destination needs to make its own decision on the matter of destination marketing fees. Because the Yukon is unique in certain ways (for example, YCB is the only convention bureau in Canada to receive core funding from the provincial/territorial government; and the only bureau which represents the territory as a whole rather than one city) we will have to work out our own solutions regarding the DMF issue – or if we will institute a DMF at all. That marketing funds are essential to promoting our territory as a prime meeting and event destination is a given. If you have comments you would like to provide to the Board of Directors, Yukon Convention Bureau, please send them to Maureen Bundgaard, Managing Director at maureen@ycb.ca or write us at Ste 205, 4133 Fourth Avenue, Whitehorse, Y1A 18H.

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