The Southern Gulf Islands Tourism Partnership Society (SGITP) has operated for several years, but raised its profile in the last year with the release of the Short-term Rentals Impacts Report for Salt Spring Island. We asked the society’s executive director Jamie Sterling to answer a few questions in order to share more information about the organization and its role in the Southern Gulf Islands.
Q. When and why was SGITP created?
A. SGITP began operating in late 2019. It was born out of the “Experience the Gulf Islands” Proposal (2014) and subsequent Concept Plan (2016). These were led jointly by the Salt Spring and Southern Gulf Islands economic development commissions with the support of many volunteers across all five islands. The intentions were to advance community tourism planning, improve the social and environmental outcomes of tourism, and to improve inter-island mobility.
Q. What does the society do now? How is it funded?
A. Now, SGITP is actioning on those goals by promoting seasonal and geographic dispersion and responsible visitor behaviour. We only market the shoulder- and off-seasons, and in the summer we focus on visitor education. The rationale is to both provide more sustainable, year-round economic activity for businesses and to reduce the strains of summer overcrowding, ultimately working towards a regenerative visitor economy that gives back to our communities more than it takes. We operate from the standpoint that tourism should improve the quality of life for everyone in a community.
We’re funded by the Municipal Regional District Tax (MRDT), a two per cent tax on all visitor accommodations, including short-term rentals. So it’s visitors that provide our funding, not local businesses or residents. In order to be eligible for the MRDT program, however, the local electoral areas must contribute funds, which is a nominal amount.
Annually, the MRDT revenue is around $600,000. Expenditures are strictly limited to tourism marketing, programs and projects, except in the case of revenue derived from short-term rentals, which can be used towards affordable housing. Since 2024, SGITP has committed all of that portion to affordable housing, amounting to nearly 50 per cent of our total revenue.
Q. What is the current organizational structure?
A. Currently, there is one staff member (myself) supported by eight board directors from across the five islands: Jeremy Milsom (Salt Spring Inn), Glen Tremblay (Cusheon Lake Resort), Kelly Armstrong (Harbour House Hotel), David Wood (Salt Spring Island Cheese), Jesse Keefer (Bodega Ridge), Marcia Devicque (Marcia Devicque Glassworks), Anne Hayward (Sage Hayward Vineyards) and Lise Magee (Blue Vista Resort).
Q. What does an “average” work week look like for you, if there is such a thing?
A. The scope is really broad, which makes every week different. One week, I could be preparing reports for Destination BC, which oversees and approves our budgets and plans. The next, I could be planning or reviewing marketing campaigns, supporting board governance work, leading partner outreach and engagement, writing grants or working on advocacy.
Q. Your videos promoting tourism on the islands capture the culture and are so well done. Who is responsible for creating those?
A. We have a policy of procuring local first, so most of those are created by Brianna Cudmore, a young Salt Spring entrepreneur with a social media management business. She’s an expert at creating content that performs on social media and really understands how to present local values and culture for a visitor audience.
Q. The Gulf Island Events Calendar is another great initiative. How did that come about and how does it work?
A. We wanted to create more visibility for events to both attract visitors and to make sure those who are here can find out what’s happening. We found a great partner in Salt Spring Arts, which was exploring the calendar concept at the same time. Working together, we were able to create the only non-profit, region-wide cultural calendar that’s free to post on and is supported by digital ads. Event producers just have to submit their event on the website, and as long as it fits into the criteria, it will be posted within a few days.
Q. What was the impetus for the Short-term Rentals Impacts Report for Salt Spring Island?
A. The report was born out of a short term rental roundtable led by the CRD in January 2025 where it became clear that there wasn’t locally relevant data. SGITP offered to commission this report since the regenerative visitor economy we’re working towards depends on actively balancing housing needs with guest accommodation.
Among other things, the findings showed: the STR market has grown 24 per cent in booked nights from 2022–2024; they make up 48 per cent of the total guest accommodation units; and between May 2024 – May 2025, STR activity potentially led to the loss of 150 homes. I wouldn’t say this was revelatory as much as it confirmed existing assumptions and quantified the unchecked growth. However, the report makes it very clear that without clearer bylaws, a business licensing system and proactive enforcement, we won’t get more accurate local data or manage short-term rentals in a way that meets community needs. From SGITP’s perspective, that risks long-term industry resilience and limits resident quality of life, both of which fall under our mandate.
Q. What other projects or areas of focus kept the SGITP busy in 2025?
A.There was a big focus on revitalizing our policies and procedures, improving accountability and transparency, and strengthening relationships to make sure the society has a solid foundation as its operations mature. With our contributions to affordable housing, we also became hyper-focused on streamlining our activities and making sure our spending is providing the best ROI possible.
Q. What is on the agenda for the SGITP in 2026?
A. In 2026, I’m looking forward to turning the focus more onto marketing and destination management. We’ll be implementing better usability and functionality to our website, integrating AI, optimizing ads and campaigns for better performance, collecting and sharing more relevant data, and exploring a destination stewardship strategy.
Q. How can people learn more about the SGITP?
A. Our visitor-facing site is at southerngulfislands.com, but more information on the organization itself can be found at sgitourismpartnership.ca.