Charlottetown is giving some of the biggest cities in Canada a run for their money when it comes to attracting lucrative sports tourism events.
Global Sports Impact (GSI) Canada Index has ranked Charlottetown No. 1 in cities with populations of 50,000 or under, but it has also ranked the P.E.I. capital sixth overall behind metropolitan cities like Montreal, Quebec City, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver.
It’s the second year in a row that Charlottetown has topped the 50,000-and-under population category.
Meanwhile, Summerside ranked eighth in the 50,000-and-under population category.
The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA), in partnership with Sportcal, the publisher of the annual GSI report, developed the index in 2018. It is based both on national championships and international competitions hosted in 2018 as well as those events awarded for 2019 and beyond.
The GSI index ranked 119 cities overall.
“It’s a real accolade,’’ said Wayne Long, events development officer with the City of Charlottetown. “It’s something we should really be proud of. It really validates the efforts that we’ve been taking in order to capitalize on the lucrative sports tourism market.’’
That market is worth $6.8 billion annually across the country and $68 million to P.E.I. Charlottetown sees an annual economic impact of around $45 million.
It takes a lot of work to maintain the high ranking the city has had these past two years, to say nothing of climbing to sixth overall.
“It’s obviously a result of our strategic vision to secure events here in the capital city. We continue to score very well when attracting events.’’
In the last six weeks, Charlottetown has hosted the U Sports Women’s Hockey Championships, the Canadian Stick Curling Championships, the National Dodgeball Championship, the Canadian Ringette Championship (which Charlottetown co-hosted with Summerside), the Canadian Wheelchair League Basketball Championship and the major midget Atlantic hockey championships, to name a few.
Long says the real value in sport tourism isn’t just the event or its participants but the number of fans and parents who travel with teams, as well as television rights, sponsors that attend and scouts who show up to evaluate talent.
“It’s a direct result of our capacity to host, our infrastructure, our accommodations, our restaurants, our hosting resumes. The event is not only hosted in the city, it becomes the city.’’
Long says the city bids on events on an ongoing basis, but due to its successful record, national and international sporting bodies are contacting the city directly now.
The city started getting active in the sport tourism market in 2004 and created a sport tourism strategy in 2017.
Long acknowledges there are people who’d prefer the big-name concerts on occasion, but the events development officer points out that while those are also strong events to haul in, they tend to be one-offs whereas sport tourism tends to have a more lasting impact. For example, some people with the ringette championship stayed in town for up to 10 days.
“That’s the difference.’’
Star on the rise
Laurel Lea, tourism officer with the City of Charlottetown’s Score brand, was recently honoured at the annual Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) Prestige Awards.
Lea was recognized with the Rising Star of the Year Award.
She has led bid development, been a part of multiple host committees and has helped secure funding to enable hosting events.
Score has successfully held many high-profile regional, Eastern Canadian, national and international events. Last year, it ranked No. 1 for destinations with populations less than 50,000 on the GSI Canada Index.
As chairwoman of the city’s special events reserve fund and a board member of Event Atlantic, Lea has also contributed to Score’s five-year plan to expand its efforts and to be even more successful in the future.
The top 10
Following is the 2019 Global Sport Impact Canada Index (overall category)
1. Montreal, Que.
2. Quebec City, Que.
3. Edmonton, Alta.
4. Toronto, Ont.
5. Vancouver, B.C.
6. Charlottetown, P.E.I.
7. Saskatoon, Sask.
8. Richmond, B.C.
9. Regina, Sask.
10. Winnipeg, Man.
The top 10
Following is the category of how cities rank in populations of 50,000 or less
1. Charlottetown, P.E.I.
2. Brandon, Man.
3. Leduc, Alta.
4. Sydney, N.S.
5. Portage la Prairie, Man.
6. Penticton, B.C., and Moose Jaw, Sask.
8. Summerside, P.E.I.
9. Banff, Alta.
10. Wolfville, N.S.
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