New high school sports event bookings will draw thousands of visitors, Tourism Kamloops says

Thousands of young athletes

Photo: Ciaran McMahon

A youth soccer team celebrates a win at a past Slurpee Cup.

Tourism Kamloops is expecting thousands of young athletes to visit the Tournament Capital in the next two years thanks to a trio of high school sporting event bookings.

In a presentation to council’s committee of the whole on Tuesday, Erik Fisher, CEO of Tourism Kamloops, said the city and the tourism agency were able to nab hosting duties after attending a major sport tourism event together.

“Collectively, TK and the City of Kamloops secured three high school sporting events for the 26-27 years that will bring 4,400 athletes, 1,700 coaches, officials and volunteers, and upwards of 3,600 spectators for Kamloops,” Fisher said.

He said BC School Sports, which includes 450 member secondary schools from across the province, has also expressed interest in a “multi-year commitment” between itself, the City of Kamloops and Tourism Kamloops.

Fisher said Tourism Kamloops had received a letter saying BCSS would like to work in partnership to have several events over the next few years with the goal of keeping costs low for student athletes.

The Tourism Kamloops CEO said these are “new wins,” but the tourism agency is also focused on developing the city as a destination so it can attract more visitors and provide more options for people to stay longer.

He told council Kamloops pulls in nearly two million visitors per year — people who contribute about $316 million in direct spending in the city.

“The overall economic benefit for the region is closer to $528 million, but it's a lot of dollars. And it goes into the pockets of a lot of residents,” Fisher said.

“It's believed widely throughout Canada that tourism supports one in 10 jobs in this country. So it's a lot of people that live in your houses, in your neighbourhoods, on your streets.”

Fisher said last year saw growth in hotel occupancy, logging 15,000 more bookings. He noted some new work is underway to try and add bookings through the fall and winter months.

“Hotels tend to do quite well May through September, there's definitely a shoulder season, but they sit mostly empty in November, December, January, February and some even into March,” Fisher said.

The tourism agency is marketing Kamloops as a destination through B.C. and Alberta, but Fisher noted if air access is opened up to places like Toronto and Montreal “that makes good change.”

Tourism Kamloops is part of YKA Link Alliance, which is bringing together the airport and regional tourism agencies to attract new air service and bolster the region’s visibility as a travel destination.

Fisher said Tourism Kamloops has also created feasibility studies for three potential signature attractions to help with visitor draw, and is working with a consultant as part of a new music and event strategy campaign intended to grow arts and culture opportunities in the city.