New staycation tax credit coming to Ontario to help boost local tourism economy

Recovering from the impacts of COVID-19 is something Ottawa Tourism is still working on, and will continue to work on for quite some time.

However, Ottawa Tourism spokesperson Jantine Van Kregten is hopeful 2022 will turn things around for the city’s tourism.

“It’s been a long winding road to get here since the pandemic started,” she said. “We’re definitely seeing some signs of recovery, but we’re not out of the woods yet.”

In a move to help boost tourism, not just in Ottawa but all over Ontario, the provincial government is giving travelers in Ontario a staycation tax credit.

As Kregten explained to The Sam Laprade Show on Friday, November 5, in an announcement earlier this week by the Ontario government, if travellers spend a night at an eligible accommodation (like a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, cottage or campground) somewhere in the province between January 1 and December 31, 2022, visitors will be eligible for a personal income tax credit.

That tax credit works out to be 20 per cent — that means for individuals, their tax credit can come up to a maximum of $1,000, and for families $2,000. That means a credit of $200 or $400, respectively.

“It’s one of the measures they’re taking to encourage people to travel within the province and to support tourism operators who have been hard hit by the pandemic.”

What’s really attractive about the proposal, Kregten added, is that it’s an offer that’s available all year round.

“All the people that we’ve been dying to see over the past several months that we haven’t seen because of the pandemic, this is the time to start planning those reunions and say, ‘You know what, let’s meet in the middle…’ or bring your friends to Ottawa to show them what we have to offer here.”