Charlottetown is poised to profit from the $2.5 Billion sport tourism market, one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian tourism industry. SCORE is an exciting new partnership between The City of Charlottetown and Tourism Charlottetown that will allow Charlottetown to capitalize on this billion dollar industry.
SCORE stands for Sport Charlottetown Opportunities Resources and Expertise. The mandate of score is simple – To Score Sporting Events for Charlottetown.
“One of my goals when elected as Mayor was to position Charlottetown as a major event hosting destination,” says Mayor Lee. “This began in 2004 with the creation of the Events Development Officer position serving under the Economic Development, Tourism & Special Events Committee. In the past three years, Charlottetown has made great progress in hosting major sporting events. Today is an exciting day for Charlottetown and our sport industry. SCORE is an important partnership between the City of Charlottetown and Tourism Charlottetown that will set a new benchmark for hosting sporting events in the city. This initiative will assist provincial sporting bodies and event organizers to host regional, national, and international sporting events and sport meetings in Charlottetown, stimulating tourism, economic development and community growth,” adds Mayor Lee.
The Canadian Tourism Commission and Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance estimate that sport tourism in Canada is valued at $2.5 billion annually. Sporting events contributed approximately $25 M to the Charlottetown economy in 2005. It is estimated that people that travel for the purpose of sport spend approximately $100 per person, per day.
“SCORE will assist provincial sport bodies to bring events to Charlottetown by providing resources and expertise,” states Kevin Murphy, Chair of Tourism Charlottetown. “Through research, we identified that many provincial sporting bodies just don’t have the resources in place to put forward and execute a bid – the will is there to host but limited resources often prevent the invite. The Score Team will address this shortfall of resources by assisting local organizers with the bid process, help to identify potential funding, book accommodations, and provide marketing and administrative support. In simple terms, SCORE will work with local sport organizers at all levels to secure potential sporting events for Charlottetown,” says Murphy.
This support structure is important and timely as Prince Edward Island will host the 2009 Summer Games. It is recognized that there will be new and upgraded facilities that will open up future opportunities in sport into the future beyond the games.
If your local sports group is interested in hosting an event and would like more information please contact Wayne Long at The City of Charlottetown at 629-4023 or Jennifer Crawford at Tourism Charlottetown at 902-629-1864
For more information, please contact:
Wayne Long
Events Development Officer
City of Charlottetown
Economic Development, Tourism & Special Events
902 629-4023
wlong@city.charlottetown.pe.ca
Kim Green
CEO
Tourism Charlottetown
902-892-0420
kimg@walkandseacharlottetown.com
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