This question comes up all the time among tourism operators on Prince Edward Island.
Sports may be a way to draw people to lodging, restaurants, and other tourist experiences that are more popular during the warmer months.
Charlottetown officials announced Tuesday that they will host the second-ever Sports Hosting Experience, bringing together groups involved in sporting events from across the country.
This follows the announcement in Summerside last month that the city would host five national championships over the next three years.
Tanner Doiron of Summerside Event Development said: “We are always looking for events and are looking to partner with various national sporting organizations, which is why we are announcing such a prestigious event. That's huge,” he said. “It adds to our resume and allows us to attract even better and bigger events.”
Many of the sporting events the island seeks take place outside of the lucrative summer tourist season, allowing the state to take advantage of the well-developed tourism tools such as hotels and restaurants that it relies on during its busy season.
“We have all these different sports going on all year round, so it's kind of a great year-round booster for lodging providers,” said Colin Clemens, CEO of the PEI Tourism Industry Association. Ta.
Tourism operators and authorities have long focused on expanding the core summer season to include the shoulder season, the months before and after it, and the rest of the year.
In a plan announced last year, tourism industry officials made sports tourism one of the key priorities to extend the tourist season throughout the year.
“Sporting events have been able to really extend into the winter with tournaments,” Clemence said. “Last year, we went to the Canadian tournament. We were able to host it.”
Officials hope the meeting will give them an opportunity to advocate for more sporting events and long-term plans to fill hotels, motels and restaurants year-round.
