Ottawa's Tourism Industry Continues To Reap Rewards Of Extra Marketing Dollars

In June 2004, 39 member hotels of the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association began collecting a voluntary three-per-cent fee on occupied rooms. The fee is currently raising about $500,000 a month from visitors and this money is being ploughed back into tourism marketing. Mr. Burelle says they are seeing positive results in all sectors of the local tourism industry, including travel trade, meetings and conventions, hotel occupancy and the number of holiday packages sold. He says he is pleased with the success of Ottawa Tourism's latest marketing campaign and feels the new "Ottawa Exposed" promotion made a "big bang." Museum attendance is the only sector where the attendance is still lower than expected. According to Ottawa Tourism's statistics for the month of July, the number of visitors at area museums and attractions are down by 32 per cent for the year to date. However, the statistics also reflect the fact that the Museum of Nature is currently undergoing major renovations and the new War Museum didn't open its doors until May. http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/284295317088849.php#

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