In the past, the NDP has opposed the privatization of public services, but in the case of Tourism BC, that's what needs to happen, says NDP Leader Adrian Dix.
Dix said an NDP government would return Tourism BC to the hands of the tourism industry.
Prior to the 2010 Winter Games, Tourism BC was governed by the tourism sector, funded partly through a hotel tax.
But in August 2009, it was taken out of industry's hands – a move the NDP claims was prompted by a disagreement between the Liberal government and Tourism BC's leaders on marketing B.C. and the 2010 Winter Games. The results have been dismal, Dix said in a press release.
"Since Tourism BC was eliminated as an independent agency by the Liberal government in 2009, B.C. has struggled to market itself effectively," he said. "This has contributed to the tourism downturn we have experienced across the province in the past few years.
"In 2010, the Liberal government said they would double tourism revenue by 2015, yet revenues are only just returning to pre-Olympic levels and there are still fewer tourism jobs than in 2008.
A drop in tourism has helped put BC Ferries in the red and led to West Coast Resorts – which runs luxury fishing lodges in Haida Gwaii – to seek creditor protection last year.
The post-Games drop in tourism in B.C. has largely been the result of a drop in visits from the U.S. – a result of America's sluggish economy.
The NDP said that restoring Tourism BC as an industry-run umbrella organization, with a stable funding formula, will help the industry have more certainty over funding.
Currently, Tourism BC's funding is decided year-to-year as part of annual budgets, which creates uncertainty, according to NDP tourism critic Spencer Chandra Herbert.
"Stable, formula-based funding will ensure the industry is not at the mercy of annual budget decisions," he said.
