B.C. boosts tourism sector support to $105 million following task force report
Posted December 22, 2020 12:02 pm.
Last Updated December 22, 2020 12:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government has added $55 million to a fund to help tourism businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tourism Minister Melanie Mark says the additional cash follows recommendations of a task force report to immediately launch a $105-million fund to help the tourism sector.
The relief fund more than doubles the $50 million for tourism announced in September by the government in its economic recovery plan.
Mark says says the government will also provide $5 million to Indigenous Tourism B.C. to help administer relief grants to Indigenous tourism operations.
Tourism task force chairwoman Tamara Vrooman says the relief fund provides a first step to positioning the industry for recovery in the COVID-19 era.
Last summer, the Tourism Association of B.C. asked the government to provide $680 million to help the struggling sector.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2020.
The Canadian Press
