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Return of tournaments, events, big boost for town of Birch Hills

Return of tournaments, events, big boost for town of Birch Hills

“In previous years, the restaurants definitely got a boost in the morning on Saturday with people coming for breakfast,” Pitzel said. “There are six teams this year. Even if there’s ten players on each team, that’s 60 more people in town that are going to be in town and around doing some shopping, or even just coming and looking at stuff.”

For a town with just over 1,000 people, an infusion of at least 60 more people, all of whom will be working up an appetite, is good news for the local eateries. The canteen also gets a big boost, according to Pitzel, from an all-day tournament. The six teams involved will start playing early in the morning with games running well into the evening.

As spring transitions to summer, they’ve got more to look forward to. Last season, the town set records at their golf course, which broke records they set the previous year during COVID. Slightly more relaxed restrictions on summer sports have seen them grow in popularity.

“We hired more staff to be able to disinfect and keep things clean and stuff like that,” said Pitzel. “We started a senior bowl league last year and we had great turnouts for that.”

Pitzel added they’re hoping to break another record at the golf course this season and are offering half-priced memberships to new members to try and push the number of new members higher again.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP

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B.C. vying for multiple international sports events to boost tourism – The Free Press

B.C. vying for multiple international sports events to boost tourism - The Free Press

B.C. is actively pursuing the possibility of hosting multiple international sports tournaments by the end of the decade to give a much-needed boost to the tourism industry.

The province has publicly expressed support for hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2025 Invictus Games and the 2030 Winter Olympics. The Olympic bid is being led by the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam First Nations, making it the first-ever Indigenous-led Olympic bid.

“We have a need to attract people back to B.C. for our tourism industry and hospitality sector,” Premier John Horgan said at a Feb. 8 news conference. “The prospect of events, whether it be FIFA, the Invictus games — which is very much in play as well — and the Indigenous-led movement to see the 2030 Olympic bid come back to Vancouver-Whistler are all things that we’re happy to entertain, provided we have a full understanding of what the costs will be and we can transparently make that clear to the people who will have to pay for much of it.”

Horgan added that the province hasn’t gotten much use out of B.C. Place after pouring $514 million into renovations prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. He said regardless of whether B.C. is chosen as a host city for any sports tournaments he wants to see it used more for concerts, conferences and events.

In an email to Black Press, Minister of Tourism, Sport and Culture Melanie Mark said hosting any one of the events would be a great opportunity for B.C.’s tourism sector which has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, a brutal 2021 fire season and the November atmospheric river event that washed away many of the province’s major highways.

Both Mark and Horgan confirmed the province is in talks with FIFA to explore Vancouver becoming a host city for the 2026 World Cup.

“We’ve also had preliminary discussions with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees about the concepts of a 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and how it could advance provincial priorities for tourism, reconciliation, housing, transportation, and the environment,” she said.

The province has seemingly ruled out a bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria led by B.C. publisher (and Black Press owner) David Black. While the province has expressed public support for the other events, little has been said about the Commonwealth Games.

When pressed on the issue, the ministry of tourism, sport and culture said it is open to major events that bring economic benefits but noted that Hamilton is the confirmed Canadian candidate city for the 2030 Commonwealth Games. The first-ever Commonwealth Games were held in Hamilton in 1930.

Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of B.C. said he supports the province’s efforts to attract major international sporting events.

“One of the things we’ve said is that while due diligence still has to be done — when you do a cost-benefit analysis of hosting any major sporting event so we understand, as a destination, any of the drawbacks that hosting an event might have — the advantages far outweigh any of those drawbacks.”

Judas noted the events represent a good opportunity to invest in events infrastructure and the events provide a sense of community spirit. One of the most important factors from a tourism perspective is major sporting events offer a destination branding opportunity for B.C.

As the world opens back up to travel, tourism destinations across the world are vying for tourists. Judas said the exposure and media attention that comes from major sporting events would give B.C. an edge in marketing itself as a tourism destination.

Most of the sports events will be centred around Vancouver. However, Judas said other regions of B.C. can still benefit from the opportunity.

“Say if Invictus was held in the Vancouver area, there’s nothing stopping meetings from taking place beforehand in Victoria, Kelowna or elsewhere.”

He suggested bundling or packaging games experiences with hotels, attractions and activities as part of the entire experience.

It remains to be seen whether any of B.C.’s attempts to attract a major sporting event will come to fruition. But the message is clear: the province is ready to host events and welcome the world back to B.C.


@SchislerCole
cole.schisler@bpdigital.ca

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Tourism authorities will co-host fun events in Phang Na and Krabi to boost economy

Tourism authorities will co-host fun events in Phang Na and Krabi to boost economy

In an effort to boost tourism income in Phang Na and Krabi, the Thailand Tourism Authority is helping host some new fun events. This comes after tourist areas in Thailand have been devastated by Covid-19. The first events will be two car rallies. People will drive along a route between the two cities, and stop at various sites to tour attractions and do cultural activities. The tours and activities will help bring income to local communities.

Some activities are outdoorsy, like planting seagrass for manatees and visiting a goat farm. There is also a bead museum participants can visit, and the Kaset Fair Krabi 2022, a street food fair. A communications manager for a petrol company also hosting the events told The Phuket News that this is just the start of more events to come.

“We are ready to support business owners, society and community to have a quality of life and well-being and grow together in a sustainable way.”

The car rallies will last from February 19-20. Participants must pay 1,800 baht per car, and groups travelling with three people in a car must pay 800 baht per person. The rallies include two days and one night of accommodation, two meals, two shirts, and two hats.

SOURCE: The Phuket News

 

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World Athletics targets new events to boost revenue – SportsPro

World Athletics targets new events to boost revenue - SportsPro
  • World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon reveals organisation is “exploring possible ideas” around events, products and data
  • Governing body not looking to sell existing rights

World Athletics is seeking to put on new events which it says will help boost income for the global governing body and its athletes.

The Times reports that World Athletics has turned to sports marketing agency Two Circles and Oakwell Sports Advisory – which advised CVC Capital Partners on its UK£365 million (US$495 million) Six Nations rugby union investment – as part of efforts to generate new revenue streams.

Speaking to The Times, World Athletics chief executive Jon Ridgeon said there was no plan for the organisation to sell any of its existing rights and, instead, would be looking to create new opportunities.

“This is in the early stages and it will start by exploring possible ideas,” Ridgeon said. “We are not doing this because we are in any trouble as an organisation. Financially we are doing pretty well.

“But we now need to look at ways to take the sport forward at a time when we have so many major events coming up. It’s about looking at new events, new products, utilising data – and hopefully providing more money to more athletes.”

World Athletics had already revealed its intention to expand its calendar when it announced China’s Wanda Group as the title partner of the Diamond League series in September 2019. The ten-year agreement, which is reportedly worth more than US$100 million, included provision for a new annual Diamond League meeting in China organised by Wanda Sports.

Also included in the contract was a media rights agreement for a secondary international athletics series, the World Athletics Continental Tour, which replaced the World Challenge competition. So far, the new tour is set to hold 130 meetings in 2022.

This year’s World Athletics schedule is headlined by the World Athletics Championships, which will be held in Eugene, Oregon, from 15th to 24th July. Other notable competitions in 2022 include the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Serbia from 18th to 20th March and the World Athletics U20 Championships in Columbia from 1st to 6th August.