Province announces new funding for "anchor tourism organizations", including museums and galleries
Science centres and other urban sites are eligible for up to $1 million if they can show at least a 30-percent reduction in revenue
Sites like H.R. MacMillan Space Centre and the Museum of Vancouver are eligble for the new provincial funding.
THE PROVINCE has just announced a plan to fund “anchor tourism” sites to help them survive past the pandemic.
As part of BC’s 2021 Budget, the $50-million BC Major Anchor Attractions Program offers up to $1 million per attraction through one-time grants to sites like galleries, museums, science centres, amusement parks, wildlife parks, botanical gardens, and heritage institutions. Specifically, major anchor attractions in urban centres like Vancouver that receive 75,000 or more visitors per year can receive as much as $1 million. Tourbus companies are also eligible for the funding.
The application window will be open until June 7, with funds provided in July.
Sites like Butchart Gardens and Capilano Suspension Bridge Park have reported as much as 90 percent less traffic. Many of the sites have remained open, including indoor attractions like galleries and museums, even as theatres and other performing-arts venues remain closed by provincial health orders.
Attractions must demonstrate a need for support to remain open and operational at minimal levels. They must also show at least a 30-percent reduction in revenue for the period from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 when compared with the same period from 2019 to 2020.
“We’re doing all we can to keep our doors open, and the funding from the Province’s Major Anchor Attractions program will help us pay expenses until we can get back to running at full capacity,” said Jonathan Burke, board chair of the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre Society, in the press announcement today.
Eligible expenses include “payroll, rent and utility costs related to restarting or ramping up operations in preparation for gradual reopening in alignment with provincial health orders”. The funding is available for not-for-profit organizations as well as businesses.
“The pandemic has illuminated…how important anchor attractions and tour bus companies are to our communities and our tourism ecosystem,” said Melanie Mark, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport at the press announcement. “Our government is responding to a call to action from the Tourism Task Force, which identified the need to fill in the gaps and support these important job creators across our province.”
Eligibility and more information is here.
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