Ontario Winter Games

[aaron]

They don't have the profile but they sure have the profits. Next week's Ontario Winter Games here can't compare to such things as hockey's Memorial Cup or football's Vanier Cup for high visibility. But down where it counts -- at the bottom line -- they blow the big attractions out of the water.

It all comes down to the number of visitors coming to town and how much money they'll be leaving behind. It's a lot -- as much as $3 million for the largest Winter Games yet.

Whereas the more prestigious events tend to bring out hometowners by the drove, the so-called lesser ones attract out-of-town money. It's like a national balance of trade in microcosm. When a lot more dough is coming in than going out (or merely changing hands inside a community), the economic pluses are obvious.

Next week's Winter Games run three days and involve a massive 3,162 athletes, up 800 from the last Games in Guelph. Of those, 2,728 of them will be based in London and 434 in Barrie for skiing events.

But it's not the athletes that matter as much as those who come along with them.

Tourism London's Blair McIntosh estimates between two and three people accompany each athlete for events such as next week's.

Had London won the right to put on the world junior hockey championship awarded to Vancouver, there would have been fewer than 200 athletes here and a much lower visitor-per-athlete count.

It should be pointed out that a world event generates other far-reaching economic benefits -- such as future tourism -- as a result of the international marketing focus.

Aaron
_________________
Aardvark Map - custom maps for your site
Follow me on Twitter
Become an Aardvark fan on Facebook