OLDS — The KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup of curling, held last spring in Olds, generated nearly $2.34 million of economic activity in the Olds area, according to a study by Sport Tourism Canada.
The results were revealed in a news release issued jointly Aug. 17 by the Town of Olds and Sport Tourism Canada.
The championship, part of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling, was held in the Olds Sportsplex May 3-8.
The study was commissioned by the Town of Olds and was conducted during the event, which attracted a swarm of out-of-town participants, staff, spectators, news and sports media, and others.
Spending by all those people, combined with that undertaken by the event organizers, totalled just over $1.9 million.
That spending in turn supported just over $2.8 million in overall economic activity in Alberta, with nearly $2.34 million of economic activity occurring in Olds and area.
Those expenditures supported $840,400 in wages and salaries in the province through the support of 17.8 jobs, of which 16.1 jobs and $692,628 in wages and salaries were supported locally, the news release said.
The total net economic activity (GDP) generated by the KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup was:
• $1.12 for the town Olds;
• $1.43 million for the province of Alberta;
• $1.77 million for Canada as a whole.
Nearly 400 valid survey responses were collected during the event.
More than 6,500 out-of-town visitors attended, with the average stay being 3.6 nights in Olds during the event.
The majority of visitors to the event (more than 88 per cent) came from Alberta. Others came from Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Women made up 66 per cent of the audience, with people over 55 making up the largest age demographic at 59.7 per cent.
According to the report, the KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup was the significant factor in people choosing to visit Olds, rating it a 9.1 out of 10 as a rationale.
The top cultural experiences that people participated in were visits to the Uptowne Olds Shopping District, as well as the Rotary Athletic Park, Olds College Botanic Gardens & Wetlands and the Uptowne Olds Murals.
“By measuring the economic impact of the KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup in Olds, we validated the fact that sport tourism is an important economic driver for our community and province,” Town of Olds Mayor Judy Dahl said in the news release.
“We hosted hundreds of curling fans and made sure their visit was a memorable one.
“This event was a much-needed boost to our local hotels, restaurants and retailers, injecting $1.65 million into our regional economy.
“The fact that 93 per cent of out-of-town guests indicated they would visit Olds again, and 94 per cent said they would recommend Olds to others, shows the importance that sport event hosting has on our community.”
Grant MacDonald, chief operating officer of Sport Tourism Canada, said they were pleased to do the survey for Olds.
“Gathering this data helps establish the significant contributions that sport tourism, through events such as the KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup, makes to communities of all sizes across Canada, as well as the province and the country.
“Congratulations to the organizing team from Olds for staging this event so successfully and helping the sport tourism sector return to its vibrant place in the tourism industry.”
Summary of Key Findings in the report:
• $1.9 million of initial expenditures
• $2.8 million overall economic activity in the province
• 6,549 out-of-town visitors
• $1.65 million of visitor spending
• $692,628 wages and salaries supported locally
• 16 local jobs supported by the event
• $1.43 million boost to provincial GDP
• $572,170 taxes supported across Canada
