Fiscal implications of moving to tourism finance for parks: Ontario Provincial Parks

Abstract

This article reviews the fiscal implications of moving from government funding of park management to user-funded operations in a major park system, the Provincial Parks in Ontario, Canada. In 1995/1996 after the introduction of the new funding model, the government grant to Ontario Parks was reduced to $10.6 million from $28.8 million, a reduction of 63%. Over the 15-year study-period from 1995 to 2010, the tourism-based income increased from $18.1 million to $64.9 million, an increase of 257%, while visitation increased from 8.6 million to 9.5 million in the same period, an increase of 10%. The total operating budget of Ontario Parks increased from $28.2 million to $76.5 million, an increase of 165%. The park tourism income increased through: (1) increased levels of fees charged; (2) increased diversity of pricing; and (3) broadening the income to include new features. Factors leading to the successful utilization of this user pay system for a park system are suggested.

Keywords:

• park tourism
• park finance
• fees
• trends
• state parks
• provincial parks
• privatization
• tourism income
• revenue generation

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Bruce van Staalduinen, the Manager of Operations for Ontario Parks, provided access to the Ontario Parks' income data. He offered detailed explanation of the financial spreadsheets, undertook critical analysis of an earlier version of the article, and provided valuable context information for the article. Will Wistowsky, the Socio-Economic Analyst of Ontario Parks, provided pricing data for 1995. John Lohuis, the General Manager of the Niagara Parks Commission, provided valuable comments. Two anonymous referees provided valuable advice.