TIABC Voice of Tourism Newsletter – December 6, 2024

Even though I wasn’t able to secure tickets to any of the three concerts, the Taylor Swift Eras tour is still costing me a lot of money. Because my daughter was already travelling from Regina to attend tonight’s show, my wife and I decided to fly our son-in-law and grandkids in as well to celebrate an early Christmas. With our sons, a daughter-in-law, a friend, and a big dog also visiting from Kelowna, our house is bursting at the seams which means spending a small fortune on food, transportation, retail, and holiday related activities…not to mention fixing all the broken stuff after they leave.

The link between the Eras tour and a last-minute family reunion is but a small example of what spectacles like this and events of all kinds do for BC communities. According to Destination Vancouver and PavCo, the Eras Tour will generate an estimated $157 million in economic impact for the province, 70% of which is export revenue.

Taylor Swift’s performances this weekend follow a Billie Eilish concert on Tuesday and a record 495 tourism industry professionals from across Canada in Vancouver for the TIAC Congress that concluded last night. Next week, some 16,000 delegates will descend on the city for a major convention that bolsters the local visitor economy yet again.

At the TIAC Congress, I had the pleasure of moderating a workshop where two of the panelists spoke about the value of the business meeting and sport sectors. Conferences and conventions represent some $47 billion in revenues nationwide while Sport Tourism is estimated to contribute close to $7 billion to Canada’s economy.

It makes for a strong argument that as a province and country we should not only continue to attract and host events, but we also need to compel all levels of government to partner and invest in arenas, stadiums, convention centres or similar infrastructure to spur growth and incremental spending by users. In BC alone, communities like Kelowna, Victoria and Vancouver could all benefit from new or expanded meeting venues but there are other BC cities too…some with ideas or proposals that haven’t gained any traction due to funding constraints.

I recently spoke with the mayor of Richmond about the Olympic Oval (ROO), which, I’ve said before, is among the best facilities in North America. Although primarily a community amenity subsidized by the city, a 2010 games operating trust fund and Tourism Richmond, the multi-purpose venue attracts tens of thousands of visitors and locals and hosts dozens of events each year. It also houses an attraction called the Richmond Olympic Experience which is a legacy from the winter games.

To be sure, most communities can’t afford an amenity like the ROO but it doesn’t preclude local governments from developing stronger partnerships with the province and federal government to advance plans for facilities that can ultimately benefit residents, attract new visitors and build business for their respective cities, towns and regions.

Conference delegates heard this week that host destinations and tourism leaders need to form strategic partnerships with communities that have previously hosted similar conferences, competitions or events. Borrowing ideas or learning lessons on what to do or not to do is vital. British Columbia learned from colleagues in Torino, Park City and Beijing in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics, and the host cities that followed 2010 learned valuable lessons from us.

With Invictus Games and the World Cup on the horizon, the opportunity is ripe for DMOs, tourism businesses and all levels of government to work together to create a sense of community spirit, advance opportunities for visitors and locals to have fun, and importantly, build long-lasting legacies such as new venues that generate social, economic, and cultural benefits for years to come through the business meetings and sport sectors, not only for larger centres but also for smaller communities throughout BC.

December is always an expensive month with events, hosting guests, buying gifts and other incidentals. This Christmas was supposed to be an off-year for my wife and I since our kids are scheduled to be with their in-laws over the holidays. However, the Eras Tour superseded those plans and we find ourselves celebrating Christmas early with our entire family. When my exorbitant Visa bill arrives at the end of the month, I’ll blame it all on Taylor Swift.

Walt Judas
CEO, TIABC