Business Headlines / September 30, 2005

Tourism industry fighting to stop four-year slump   Thirty-nine hotels in the Ottawa Gatineau region have begun adding a three per cent leisure marketing fee onto their patrons’ bills in an effort to boost marketing budgets for the local tourism industry.   Fox run doubles money with little advertising   In raising an estimated $1 million in the Ottawa area only, and with a number of participants close to 7,000, the Terry Fox Foundation’s events prove to be very successful. But with 30 paid staff across Canada, no marketing plan and $25 million raised nationally, any other business or charity can be envious of the foundation’s feats.   Cooking up success in a tough restaurant market   If you made a list of ingredients for a restaurant it might include a kitchen staff, servers, a dining room and, of course, food. But these ingredients do not necessarily guarantee the restaurant’s success.   Business Beat: Gas prices hurt, but the last thing we need is a tax break   A major business association has called for the Canadian government to lower its taxes on gas to help struggling companies. But while it’s easy to sympathize with businesses hurt by costly fuel and while this may seem like a logical solution, this is not the way to deal with the problem.