Dear editor:
AirBnb, and other short term rental operators are warning us of the decimation of tourism in Penticton because of the new provincial government rules regulating their business. I’ve lived in Penticton for 60 years and would like to point out something to these apocalypse theorists I’ve learned in my time here.
AirBnb/short term rentals are quite new. Ten years or so ago, before the short term rental phenomenon, we had tourism in Penticton. These new regulations won’t change that. We also had affordable homes for people who worked in the tourism industry to live in, something we don’t have now. The new rules are designed to change that.
Your crying wolf about damage to our local economy if the province changes rules is insulting to my intelligence. Be honest. Your concern is for your wallet, and your wallet only.
George Murai
Penticton