The bar has been reached for the tourism industry in the city.

Met and exceeded. The city is well over the 450 rooms after a Destination B.C. inspector made his way through the city last month.

The city has, unofficially, 481 rooms that meet approved accommodation standards set out by the provincial government organization.

Tourism Rossland executive director Deanne Steven said, unofficially, the city now qualifies for a higher funding amount through the Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) funding from the province.

“If we are to achieve it … it will be tremendous because we will be able to put together a great many more projects,” she said.

Steven said an official announcement on the new funding level would come next month.

The required number of approved accommodation rooms—450 and over—are expected to give the city a two per cent share of the RMI funding, up from one per cent.

That extra money, around $48,000, will be flow through money for the City of Rossland council to dispense as it sees fit.

The RMI was started in 2006 with 14 RMI communities, of which Rossland is the smallest. Rossland received $28,362 in 2013 from the initiative.

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