Tourism 2010 Resource Centre

BC Communities are Busy Boosting Tourism Through Sport

With less than two years until one of the world’s greatest sport blockbusters comes to British Columbia, communities not directly in the glow of the Olympic spotlight are also boosting tourism through sport.

Cities like Prince George, Kamloops and Port Alberni are all demonstrating how team spirit, topnotch recreation facilities and innovative marketing can translate into sport tourism dollars, bringing spectators, athletes and their families to local hotels, restaurants and shops.

At this year’s BC Tourism Awards, Initiatives Prince George was honoured with the 2008 Sport Tourism Community Legacy Award for its “Train in Prince George” program, aimed at attracting world class athletes and teams preparing for the 2010 Winter Games and other world championships and tournaments.

“The program is all about the people of this community and region,” says Virginia Sprangers, Manager of Events Prince George, part of Initiatives Prince George, the city’s economic development agency. “We have incredible support from our mayor and council, and the partnerships that have been created as a result of the program are the single biggest contributor to the success of Train in PG.”

The Train in PG program is an aggressive marketing initiative spearheaded by Initiatives Prince George, in partnership with the City of Prince George and the Prince George Spirit of BC Community Committee.

Sprangers says Prince George trades on its sporting strengths, namely modern, state-of-the-art athletic and training facilities, proximity to educational institutions and a supportive community. So far the city is focusing on five sports – curling, ice hockey, biathlon, short-track speed skating and cross country skiing – and already the program has netted impressive results.

In 2006 Mr. Lan Li, a director for China’s winter sports program, toured the city’s sport facilities, including the impressive Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre that houses two covered indoor soccer pitches, a 280-metre track, a 22,000 square foot gymnasium with room for three basketball courts, and full fitness facilities.

Mr. Lan Li’s whirlwind visit was soon followed by a prolonged stay by the Chinese and Korean national curling teams training for the 2007 Asian Winter Games in Changchun, China. The performance of the Chinese national women’s curling team at the recent world championships in Vernon, which propelled them to the finals against Jennifer Jones’ Winnipeg team, will likely reinforce BC’s ability to attract international athletes to train here.

The training partnership with China resulted in a unique opportunity for Prince George’s expert curling icemaker who was seconded for the Asian Games. The city has also had success attracting summer athletes – both the Canadian and Chinese U-20 women’s soccer teams kicked the ball around on Prince George fields in preparation for the 2006 World Cup in Russia.
Kamloops, the 2007 Sport Tourism award winner, has been blazing a wide path in this marketing niche since the “Tournament Capital” program was launched in 1985. The city works closely with more than 100 local sports group, Tourism Kamloops and Venture Kamloops (the city’s economic development marketing agency) to promote the city’s event hosting potential.

In 2006 alone the city put on 110 tournaments involving 30,000 participants with an estimated economic impact of $12 million. That same year, the city granted $50,000 in support funds to local athletes and organizations.

According to tournament capital coordinator Sean Smith, tournaments are good for sport, great for the organizations and volunteers that are the backbone of local athletes and teams, and a boon to the community both from an economic perspective and as motivation to keep fields and facilities in top shape.

Recently Kamloops had to marshal all these strengths to win the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games, an event the provincial government estimates will generate $10 million in revenue for the region.

“It was a community bid, driven and supported by local sport people,” Smith says. “Our ability to listen to what the judges were looking for, and to make changes on the fly was key.”

Sport tourism is not only an option for larger cities; small communities are also finding creative ways to attract big-ticket events. Port Alberni scored a major coup last year when it was awarded the high profile World U-17 Hockey Challenge that will see elite young players hitting the ice between Dec. 28, 2008 and Jan. 4, 2009.

Port Alberni inherits the tourney from last year’s host, London, Ontario, a much larger city. The hosting rules stipulate that the host must hold at least half of the 32-game schedule on its own ice surfaces (the remainder can be farmed out to neighbouring communities.)

“We are a small relatively remote community and the authorities had to ask those hard questions, whether or not we had the capacity to host an event of this size,” says Ron Doetzel, Port Alberni’s manager of recreation services.

This resource-based Vancouver Island town, which has suffered from the decline of the logging and fishing sectors, is no stranger to sporting events and tournaments. In the past Port Alberni has held the 1998 BC Senior Games and the 2004 B.C. Winter Games, which brought more than $1 million into the community. Doetzel expects the 2009 U-17s to have a similar economic impact.

“We don’t have the resources and staff to be pounding the pavement all the time,” Doetzel admits,“ but we’re known as a community that can host a good event.”

Kamloops, Prince George and Port Alberni are members of the BC Sport Tourism Network, which links BC communities to sport tourism opportunities and resources. The Network, an initiative of the Tourism BC and 2010 Legacies Now sport tourism partnership, has plans to launch a number of exciting new initiatives to enhance the capacity of British Columbia communities to attract more sporting events and training opportunities. Also watch for the announcement of the launch of phase two of the BC Sport Event Hosting and Resort Guide found at www.hostingbc.ca.

For more information on the Tourism BC and 2010 Legacies Now sport tourism partnership programs please visit: www.tourismbc.com and www.2010legaciesnow.com

or contact:

Caterina Papadakos
Manager, Community Development
Tourism British Columbia
604-660-3754
Caterina.Papadakos@tourismbc.com

For more information on Initiatives Prince George and their "Train in Prince George" program please visit: www.initiativespg.com and www.traininpg.com/sport

For more information on sport tourism initiatives in Kamloops please visit:
www.kamloops.ca/tournamentcapital

For more information on sport tourism initiatives in Port Alberni please visit:
www.sportalberni.com

Photo caption: The China U-20 national women's soccer team and the local Chinese Benevolent Association during a training visit to Prince George.