Nanaimo’s economy is poised to reap millions of dollars in revenue this year because of special events such as this week’s Junior All-Native basketball tournament and a busy year for conferences which fill hotel rooms, pack restaurants and bolster retail sales.
Athletes, families and supporters of JANT are staying at Nanaimo hotels, bed-and breakfast units and have overflowed to Parksville and Duncan. One team is staying at Bear Mountain in Langford, Kate Good, an organizer, said Tuesday.
The event, which wraps up Friday, has brought in 1,200 athletes on 91 teams from more than 100 First Nations.
It’s a celebration of sport and culture which also delivers local economic benefits.
Revenue coming into Nanaimo “is going to be substantial,” Good said.
When driving home on Monday night, Good saw something she’d never seen before. “All the drive-throughs were packed,” she said.
Activity and interest around special events and conferences illustrates how Nanaimo is rebounding from the pandemic.
At the new 172-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel which opened next to the Vancouver Island Conference Centre this month in Nanaimo, manager Paul Dodds said, “We are going to have a fabulous first year. We are extremely busy.”
Nanaimo was short on hotel rooms and the additional rooms allow the Conference Centre to compete for larger conferences.
So far, 12 to 16 groups have booked at the Marriott because they will be attending conferences, Dodds said.
Traditionally, room bookings from conferences are made 12 to 18 months in advance. “The bigger the conference, the bigger the booking window is.”
The Marriott is pleased to get some bookings given the time line for making these arrangements, he said.
“I think it will even be better going forward.”
The Conference Centre, which opened in 2008, has 33 conferences lined so far for this year, said general manager Chuck Loewen. “The year looks very, very good and we are booking out to 2024 and 2025 already.” This year’s bookings already represent “one of the best years we’ve had.”
The first quarter of this year saw five conferences, up from one for the same months last year, Loewen said.
A consultant’s report on the centre’s economic impact in 2019 (the year prior to the pandemic) found that it generated almost $10 million that year.
The overall average value of a delegate day, including accommodation, was $392, Loewen said.
Conference business has benefited from a partnership between the Conference Centre, the Nanaimo Hospitality Association and Tourism Nanaimo, called Team Nanaimo, which markets the city as a destination, Loewen said.
Nanaimo now has 500 to 600 rooms in the downtown core. “That’s what conventions want. They want a hotel close or attached.”
Typical conferences at Nanaimo’s Conference Centre have about 250 to 400 delegates, with a few up to 500 to 700.
People are coming from elsewhere in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. A couple of international conferences are in the works too. One could be as large as 750 delegates, he said.
Nanaimo’s conference centre does not try to compete with Vancouver which is capable of staging huge events, but rather goes up against other regional centres, such as Victoria, Prince George and Whistler.
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