Heather Wright/The Independent

People staying in Lambton Shores will begin paying a four per cent accommodation tax January 2026.

Lambton Shores council approved the Municipal Accommodation Tax and a new tourist organization – Discover Lambton Shores – during the July 15 meeting.

In 2017, the provincial government gave municipalities the green light to raise new revenue with an accommodation tax capped at four per cent of the bill.

Recently, Lambton Shores, home to one of Lambton’s largest tourist attractions, Grand Bend, started looking at the accommodation tax. 

But there was concern about the service the community was receiving from Tourism Sarnia-Lambton. 

So, Lambton Shores decided to create its own municipal service corporation to promote tourism with the cash coming in from the new tax.

Lambton Shores CAO Steve McAuley in a report to council says the hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts and short term rentals are expected to bring in $343,000 a year. 

Half will be spent by the nine-member board of Discover Lambton Shores, the other half the municipality will control and use for tourism related items, according the McAuley.

The Ontario Restaurant, Hotel & Motel Association will collect the fee for the municipality at a cost of $3,000.

Discover Lambton Shores’s goals will include helping third party not-for-profit organizations’ tourism projects and events, creating a tourism strategy for the municipality and underwriting event applications for third parties. 

The mayor and one member of council will be part of the board along with people from the major tourist areas of Lambton Shores and its major industries.