Community
How the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) supports Kingston’s economy
Tourism
$493 million
economic impact
1.67 million
visitors
604,041
room nights
(hotels and shared economy)
Accommodation partners collect the 5% MAT from guests
Funds are invested to grow Kingston tourism through:
Destination marketing
Major event attractions
Strategic intiatives
Product development
Advocacy – municipal, provincial & federal
Place building and community partnerships
Through place building initiatives and community partnerships – including event sponsorship – we help create experiences for residents and visitors alike to enjoy Kingston. Some of our contributions include supporting, influencing, and contributing to:
Strategic initiatives
- Kingston’s Integrated Destination Strategy
- Kingston’s Culinary Strategy
Infrastructure Development
- The Leon’s Centre build which hosts hundreds of sporting events, concerts, special events, and community activities.
- Expansion of the Visitor Information Centre
- Kingston’s airport expansion
Sales & Marketing Support
- Led development of Kingston’s award-winning Fresh Made Daily brand
- Erected the highly popular and trending KINGSTON sign
- Support for Tourism Kingston’s on-going sales and marketing efforts, and its incentive fund program
- Helping to bring prestige curling events to Kingston, including the Scotties 2013 and Brier 2020 winning bids
- Support for the Kingston Film Office to attract and support media production