As British Columbia experiences some of its strongest tourism growth in years, with a record number of international visitors during the first half of the year, Whistler is receiving $6,610,547 from the Province’s Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) to support its tourism industry.

Through the Province’s RMI, Whistler has received a total of $74,218,753 since 2006 for a wide range of projects and events that have expanded Whistler’s recreational draw beyond its mountain sports, making it a world-renowned year round destination.

Some of the RMI funded projects in Whistler include: trail development, cultural celebrations and events such as Tough Mudder, Whistler Ironman and the Whistler Children’s Festival. Other projects include the construction of an outdoor ice rink, a BMX track, an Olympic Games legacy art piece and a unique Cultural Connector route linking six distinctive cultural properties to explore in Whistler.

The RMI provides $10.5 million each year to help eligible resort-oriented municipalities to develop and enhance their tourism infrastructure and amenities. RMI communities include Whistler, Fernie, Kimberley, Golden, Harrison Hot Springs, Invermere, Osoyoos, Radium Hot Springs, Revelstoke, Rossland, Sun Peaks, Tofino, Ucluelet and Valemount.

Since the RMI’s inception in 2006, more than $108.6 million has been invested in tourism infrastructure and programs to support local and regional tourism economies in the 14 participating communities.

Quotes:

Jordan Sturdy, MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky –

“Whistler welcomes local, national and international visitors every day, injecting significant revenue into our local and provincial economy. I am pleased to see this funding once again granted to Whistler, and I know it will be well invested in ensuring an even better guest experience.”

Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, mayor of Whistler –

“Thanks to the Province of British Columbia, RMI contributions for the last decade have allowed the Resort Municipality of Whistler to successfully invest in a variety of projects and programs to help increase annual provincial GDP contributions to $1.53 billion and achieve visitation of 2.7 million people per year. New parks, trails, and arts and culture programming have absolutely enhanced and elevated the experience of visiting our mountain community.”

Quick Facts:

• In 2015, 4.9 million international visitors came to British Columbia – a 7.9% increase compared to 2014.
• From January to June this year, 2,307,624 international visitors came to B.C., a 12.4% increase (254,935 additional visitors) over the same period in 2015.
• Tourism provides a job for roughly one out of every 15 people employed in B.C.
• RMI supports the province’s tourism strategy, Gaining the Edge, and the BC Jobs Plan.

Learn More:

A photo is available here: https://flic.kr/p/Mm51wq

To learn more about the RMI, please visit: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=30A40BDA6D8346798E15C6050063F719

BC Jobs Plan: http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/