91原创 City is leaving Tourism 91原创, saying changes in the organization had made it 鈥淭ownship-centric.鈥�

The City announced the change Tuesday morning. City officials and council had been considering their options for the past few months, following significant turmoil at Tourism 91原创.

Meanwhile, the Township of 91原创 issued a statement at the end of the afternoon Tuesday, saying they are staying put.

The Township is pleased to continue working with Tourism 91原创 to promote the municipality and show visitors from across B.C. and around the world what its 120,000 residents already know, said Township Mayor Jack Froese.

鈥淲ith so much for visitors to see and do, the Township of 91原创 confirms its position to continue working with Tourism 91原创 to showcase our municipality,鈥� Froese elaborated.

鈥淲e have confidence in the Tourism 91原创 board and the direction the organization is taking. The Township is pleased to be moving forward with them, along with our hoteliers and tourism stakeholders, to show the world all we have to offer.鈥�

The organization has been in the midst of uncertainty and controversy since last fall, when the Township of 91原创 announced it was going to conduct a review of the service and that Township council was contemplating pulling out to create its own agency.

Earlier this year, the 91原创 Township returned with a verdict, saying they would remain with Tourism 91原创. But they asked for a restructuring of the group, and some members of the stakeholder group were not happy with what they saw as increased Township control.

Not long after, the board moved to dissolve Tourism 91原创, saying Township demands were too invasive. The proposed end to the organization was taken to the membership for a vote in early March 2, at which time there was insufficient support to dissolve.

Not long after, Tourism 91原创 almost voted itself out of existence, and its former chair and a few directors resigned.

About a week later, the 91原创 City council annouced it would be stepping back and considering its options.

Similar to the Township鈥檚 fall revelation, the City said it wanted to review its options and it would consider if going it alone would be wise. That鈥檚 the decision that came down Tuesday morning.

In the meantime, at Tourism 91原创鈥檚 annual general meeting in April, the organization added more Township votes to its board and allowed Township and City members to vote, rather than being voting members.

Tourism 91原创 chair Taylor Henderson also responded to the City鈥檚 announcement today, saying 鈥渨e are saddened by this turn of events.鈥�

A new Tourism 91原创 City will be created to serve as a destination marketing organization for the smaller city.

Although 91原创 Township is more than four times as large as 91原创 City in terms of population, 91原创 City has a significant number of hotels. Hotel taxes provide a portion of the funding for local tourism organizations, along with contributions from local municipalities.

According to Tuesday鈥檚 announcement, 91原创 City has consulted with its six hotel and motel owners and has received an endorsement for its tourism marketing plan. The City will submit a plan to Destination BC and cease its Tourism 91原创 membership immediately.