As British Columbia experiences some of its strongest tourism growth in years, Kimberley is receiving $71,785 from the Province’s Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) to support its tourism industry.

Through the Province’s RMI, Kimberley has received a total of $830,382 since 2007 in funding toward projects including (but not limited to): soccer field amenities, mountain bike and Nordic trail improvements, ski racing infrastructure, skier shuttle and visitor signage.

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:

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour –

“B.C.’s tourism industry is experiencing incredible growth. It’s helping to create jobs and is one of the reasons why our province has the leading economy in Canada. Resort Municipality Initiative funding ensures qualifying resort communities have the resources they need to provide a world-class traveller experience. It’s an important step toward making sure visitors return to our province for years to come, supporting businesses and keeping our economy diverse, strong and growing.”

Don McCormick, mayor of Kimberley –

“The RMI funding from the Province has enabled Kimberley to build tourism assets to not only attract visitors, but ensure the great experience needed to bring them back. Our tourism visits are growing due in large part to the RMI funding.”

Quick Facts:

• In 2015, 4.9 million international visitors came to B.C. – about an 8% increase compared to 2014.
• The number of total overnight international visitors to B.C. in 2016 so far (January to July) surpassed the three million mark (3,200,503) for an increase of 12.5% over the same period last year.
• 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:

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/