Tourism Timmins presented its budget at council on Thursday at City Hall.
It is asking for an increase of $14,700, primarily for wage increases.
Department head Guy Lamarche explained to council about the goals of Tourism Timmins.
“Our vision is about a Timmins with a sustainable tourism product and experiences that provide a lasting legacy for tourists, and greater quality of life for the residents that call Timmins home,” said Lamarche .
He said that tourism is an 'engine for growth' for the local economy.
“We're a fairly significant player in the overall diversification efforts of the city. We are also at the table in terms of regional hub activities,” he said.
Lamarche explained in detail the initiatives of the organization, which includes online and social media promotion, handling of film and television filming requests, and the operations of major community events such as the increasingly popular Summer Concert Series, Canada Day celebrations and the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge.
They also assist tourists who visit the city.
From May to October of this year, 237 visitors signed the guest book at the Visitor Welcome Centre in Timmins.
“93 came from Ontario, 14 from Quebec, 13 from other Canada, 18 from the USA, and 25 from overseas markets. I suspect that a lot of the overseas traffic was probably related to the balloon base,” said Lamarche.
The Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base officially opened in August of 2014 at the Victor M. Power Airport and is affiliated with the Canadian Space Agency.
Lamarche spoke about the budget challenges of the department.
Among those is council's dilemma with implementing the recommendations within KPMG's Core Service Review, in which they were advised to reduce the amount of taxpayer dollars used to support festivals and events.
“I think going forward we need some assurances that there will be some service providers there, whether it be the city or other to help mobilize all the equipment that needs to be mobilized to put these festivals on” he said.
The Core Service Review also recommended that the city reduce its funding to volunteer organizations, as the city coffers see very little return of funds.
There are also questions about personnel decisions within the tourism department. Those discussions will take place behind closed doors.
“I've had some discussions with the CAO (Joe Torlone) who oversees this department and it will be very interesting to see where this takes us” said Lamarche.
Torlone pointed out another challenge for the department, which is time sensitivity. Events have to be applied for and booked well in advance and printed materials must be sent out in a timely fashion.
Torlone described the department's budget increase as 'virtually nothing'.
Although the full financial figures for the department were not included in the public documents, Lamarche did provide TimminsToday with those figures on request.
Full-time salaries within the department have risen from $105,618 in 2013, to a budgeted $177,600 in 2015. The total for 2016 is proposed as $184,400.
When examining expenditures versus revenue generated, the department projects to break even in 2016.
In 2015, the department spent $543,500 and generated $438,300.
Within the numbers provided, the only surplus generated was in 2014 with $3,009 being added to city funds.
These numbers do not include outside financial impact within the community, such as accommodations, restaurants and retail benefits.
Mayor Steve Black pointed out the 'divide' in services provided by the department. On one hand, many of the events give opportunities for permanent residents to enjoy the community and the other is to entice outsiders to the city.
Councillor Joe Campbell asked Lamarche about the return on investment in advertising and promotions, citing the $110 to $120 thousand dollars spent last year.
Lamarche said that it is difficult to obtain actual data in terms of new visitors to the city buoyed by promotions.
Lamarche says there is still a lot of work to do.
“I think Tourism Timmins has come a long way. I think we have a long way to go yet, but I'm happy with some of the inroads that we've been able to accomplish” he said.
The tourism budget, and all other departments, will ultimately require the approval of mayor and council to be implemented.
