FORSETH: Killing Kelowna's tourism by banning short-term rentals

We recently took a short holiday road trip to both Victoria and Kelowna. There were a few surprises. In Victoria, we went to the Inner Harbour Milestones restaurant. Instead of the usual sign-in for a table wait, it was 25% empty. Tourists were walking around, but I started to get the feeling that many people had left town. The usual crowds were missing. There were no waits for the Tally-Ho Horse Carriage Tour and the little ‘pickle’ boat taxis in Victoria Harbour waited for passengers. Sign-up for the Legislature tour was easy, and the BC Museum seemed relatively empty. There were no long overflow waits at the BC Ferries dock.So, it was an easy low-traffic drive to Kelowna. To my surprise, there was no traffic jam at the William R. Bennett Bridge in Kelowna. Downtown, the sidewalk tables for restaurants were mostly empty. A usual favourite haunt, the Creekside Pub & Grill on Lakeshore Road, appeared to be at about quarter capacity.My personal experiences have led me to the observation that Kelowna, BC's tourism mecca, is being hit hard this year. This sentiment is echoed by local newspapers, which report a sharp decline in visitors to the central Okanagan city.This further strengthens our concern. Usually, we see floods of Alberta license plates in every parking lot. But the wineries say they are seeing about half the traffic from last summer, which was itself still in COVID-recovery mode and justly anxious about wildfires.Various factors are involved, including the general economy and uncertain weather fears. Still, the conclusion was that the tipping point was the NDP government. Their misguided policy of discrimination against short-term rentals was to blame for the devastation of the BC tourism industry province-wide.An operator from a wine country tour said private bookings were down, that is, the bulk of people who stayed in the short-term rental market. They were down about 70 % from 2022 and 50% from 2023 in that sector. The big problem was that in May 2024, new legislation banned short-term rentals unless they were in the homeowner's primary residence — this, in a mistaken effort to ease the housing crisis. The BC Conservatives and United BC Party protested in the Legislature at the time, but the NDP government paid no heed. Everyone is now suffering the consequences. Students in entry-level jobs are having an especially tough time as the ripple effect of the NDP housing controls rolls out across the economy, damaging tourism province-wide.The NDP jammed the legislation through and unfortunately, we are now seeing the result. The usual leftie ideology of discrimination and projected blame was put above community rights and real-world experience. The NDP politics of envy and resentment have hurtful consequences.Naturally, BC housing minister Ravi Kahlon is not backing down. In defence, he wrongly refers to general vacancy rates, which are not relevant to the tourist trade. His misguided government notion says, “We want to make sure that full homes are available for families in our community."Government restrictions against free enterprise come with a larger social cost. Tourism communities need to strike a better balance between a viable regular housing supply and a robust tourism industry.“Our tourism industry is hurting," said Renee Merrifield, MLA for Kelowna. When the legislation was introduced, Premier David Eby said short-term rentals had ballooned and had removed thousands of long-term homes from the market. He was wrong. The new rules have had no helpful impact for long term rental supply but it has greatly damaged tourism.In contrast, the MLA said she heard loudly from her constituents, some restaurant owners, tour operators, or winery owners, who do not see the number of tourists and visitors they need.At the time, the NDP plan received some media attention, and Opposition MLAs knew the legislation would hurt homeowners and local businesses. They were very vocal about how the restrictions would impact the economy, especially those in communities that rely on tourism.A large part of the population wants Airbnb-type accommodation that is affordable and flexible for families, unlike hotels. Individuals who responded to that market, purchased units based on the existing regulations and projected economic growth. They were hammered by the blanket policy change. The evidence is clear. The lack of short-term rentals has significantly and negatively impacted Kelowna’s tourism industry. In just one year, it took thousands of places out of the tourist market. The loss of Airbnb, paired with a tough economy, has contributed to fewer people coming to visit the Okanagan. It has suddenly taken something that could be very affordable and turned it into something no longer feasible for the average family. This should be a cause for concern about NDP leadership.People have less money to spend. The legislation may benefit some hoteliers, while it hurts small homeowner investors. However, even hotels in Kelowna feel the damaging change, as the lack of tourism has trickled down to the hotel room numbers. They are experiencing damage to the synergy between Airbnbs and hotels.The NDP government’s goal with the short-term rental legislation was to bend and bias the market in favour of more long-term rentals. However, it is not working. Extreme socialism that defies the local economy never turns out well, and everyone suffers and most become worse off.If the BC NDP is replaced on Oct. 19th, the policy error will be fixed by repealing the legislation. It is just one more discrimination that says the NDP has to be defeated.

FORSETH: Killing Kelowna's tourism by banning short-term rentals

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