For small municipalities of a few hundred inhabitants, managing tourism is a headache. The thousands of weekly visitors, especially in the summer, contribute to the economic vitality of the community, but they exert an unbearable pressure on the infrastructures. Several candidates in the municipal elections are thinking of making more tourists contribute, as in Percé.
In this fall season, the influx of visitors to the small town of Chelsea, considered the gateway to Gatineau Park, is at its peak. On weekends, anyone who ventures onto the main village road finds themselves in a traffic jam. The situation is such that the National Capital Commission, which manages the park, suggests that potential visitors go elsewhere to enjoy the colors.
The influx of day tourists is significant throughout the year and has increased with the pandemic, also notes the candidate for mayor of Chelsea Pierre Guénard. However, the cost of welcoming visitors is not proportional to the financial benefits, he believes.
“There are a lot of people who pass through the municipality, bathe at the beaches and return to their homes”, indicates the one who tries to become mayor after having been a councilor. “We have two million visitors a year to Gatineau Park. It’s huge for a small municipality. This puts pressure on the road network, which is maintained with taxes from 7,500 residents. “
The bill for rebuilding municipal roads, adding signage and managing traffic is heavy on the shoulders of taxpayers. “Estimates are $ 15 million to rebuild the famous Meech Lake Road. It is approaching the total municipal budget, while we must maintain the arena, green spaces and the multifunctional path, ”he emphasizes. In search of solutions, Mr. Guénard’s gaze turned to Percé, in the Gaspé, and Mont-Tremblant, in the Laurentians. It undertakes to study the possibility of imposing a royalty or a tax on tourists.
The case of Percé
As of May 2022, tourists who make purchases of $ 20 or more in the town of Percé rock will see $ 1 added to their bill. The municipality does not yet know if provincial and federal taxes will apply, which could increase the royalty to $ 1.15. This excludes non-taxable groceries, gasoline, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. It will be possible to be exempted by presenting proof of residence with the B-Citi mobile application.
With this tourist tax, the outgoing mayor, Cathy Poirier, estimates that she can collect approximately 1.5 million additional income per year, which will be entirely invested in the maintenance and development of tourist infrastructure. Here too, the costs related to tourism were too high for the 3,100 taxpayers of the municipality.
“We have six rest areas in Percé, 11 toilet blocks, over 550 km2. This will allow the hiring of staff, because we have such limited budgets, committed to fixed expenses related to tourism. What is left for culture, for recreation, for services to citizens? »Explains the one who is running for a new mandate.
According to Mme Poirier, the traders, who were numerous to be worried about this measure which they will have to apply and explain to customers, rallied to the city council after information sessions. However, if traders seem to agree with the principle, some still have downsides.
“If we want to keep such a beautiful village, we have no choice but to ask tourists to help us,” admits Maxime Leveugle, from the restaurant Chez Max. But the $ 20 floor is still too low. “
The owner of Au peak de l’aurore accommodation, Jean-François Gagné, would have liked the limit to be at least $ 50. “As a tourist, you take out the $ 20 several times a day when you go for a walk with children,” he observes. Mr. Gagné also believes that it is unfair that tourists pay $ 1 as much for a $ 20 lunch as for a $ 200 overnight stay. He would have preferred a percentage calculation, as in Mont-Tremblant.
It is the Law mainly aimed at recognizing that municipalities are local governments and thus increasing their autonomy and their powers, adopted in 2017, which gives Percé the possibility of doing so.
If we want to keep such a beautiful village, we have no choice but to ask tourists to help us.
The situation of Mont-Tremblant is however rather unique, since the Tremblant Resort Association (AVT) was created in 1993 by a private bill adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec. All resort merchants must be part of the AVT and apply a 3.5% royalty on lodging and 3% on goods and services. The sums thus collected are invested in infrastructure, services and activities for visitors. The municipal administration of Percé therefore deemed it unrealistic to take a similar path.
Opponent to Mme Poirier in the race for mayor, Olivier Lafontaine, said he was neutral in the face of this measure. He understands that the burden on citizens needs to be lightened, but he deplores that these new revenues are not stable. He intends to consult citizens again on this issue.
“The announcement of this measure was initially controversial because it was not well communicated,” he said, referring to the initial outcry from traders and tourists.
Disagreements persist
In several other tourist villages in Quebec struggling with similar problems, mayoral candidates want to seriously consider the possibility of following in Percé’s footsteps.
In Tadoussac, Charles Breton, who is seeking a second term as mayor, has already discussed this with the mayoress of Percé. During the summer season, there can be up to 2,000 people a day in this Côte-Nord village of barely 800 inhabitants.
Landscaping to be carried out, public toilets to be maintained, trash cans to be emptied, streets to be renovated, parking to be managed … The energy of the municipal team is so focused on tourism that projects related to recreation, the library and municipal offices are neglected, believes the candidate. The village would also need a water treatment plant.
“I firmly intend to look at the option of a royalty,” says Breton.
“The first reaction of citizens is often the fear of repelling tourists. But a family who comes to Tadoussac, who makes between 15 and 20 transactions, I don’t think that’s enough to make them change their destination, ”he pleads, stressing that the tourist experience could be improved if the the means of the municipality were increased.
His opponent, Richard Therrien, does not want to know anything about this idea. “Taxing the tourist, I don’t agree with that. Tadoussac gets along very well with tourists, tourists pay a high price in Tadoussac to come to the whales and to our shops, ”said this retired navigation officer, who was a municipal councilor in the past.
The general manager of the Microbrasserie Tadoussac, for his part, considers that such a royalty would not be “inviting for tourists”. He recalls that health measures are already increasing the workload of traders.
Unanswered questions
Opinions are also divergent in Sainte-Rose-du-Nord, on the edge of the Saguenay Fjord, where up to 500 people stop per day. A good number of them use the only two toilets in the wharf area, while the municipality of about 400 inhabitants still does not have a water treatment system and discharges them directly into the fjord.
Mayoral candidate Marielle Couture admits that the current infrastructure is not adequate, but she is reluctant to impose a fee. “We are already overtaxed, overtaxed. I would find it strange to put in place a measure that would require paying to come here, ”she emphasizes.
[L’idée d’une redevance], it is embryonic, but it is a possibility. We cannot ask the population to support this development plan with taxes. We need another source of income.
She wants to explore other avenues of solutions, such as ecological innovations for wastewater management and the diversification of tourism with an emphasis on local producers, in order to obtain additional income. She would also like financial assistance from the federal and provincial governments for various projects.
The other candidate, Claude Riverin, also wants to improve the tourist offer with accommodation and hiking trails, so that tourists spend more in the village. But the current budget would not be sufficient to move them forward.
” [L’idée d’une redevance], it is embryonic, but it is a possibility. We cannot ask the population to support this development plan with taxes. We need another source of income, ”says Mr. Riverin.
One thing is certain, Percé’s experience will be closely followed in the municipal world. And the natural beauties of Quebec will continue to amaze local and international tourists, regardless of the amount of their bill.