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March 22, 2006
GN009
March 22, 2006 (Ottawa) - The economic impact assessment of the 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey
Championship, held in Kamloops, Kelowna and Vancouver, British Columbia December 26th – January 5th was
released today by the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA).
The event generated an estimated economic activity of $41.0 million in the province of British
Columbia. These totals resulted from $22.8 million in combined operations, capital and visitors
spending. The event contributed over $21.7 million to the provincial GDP. A total of $8.1 million
in wages and salaries were paid in the province, supporting 275 jobs. The total level of taxes received
by all levels of governments as a result of the event was estimated to be approximately $4.6 million,
distributed as follows:
$2.0 million accrued to the federal government
$2.0 million to the Province of British Columbia
$564,000 to municipal governments.
The event involved 316 participants from 10 countries, nearly 500 media, and attracted a combined total of
approximately 26,000 out of town spectators and VIPs to the three host cities.
“The 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship clearly show how attracting major sport events to B.C. can
pay off in spades – both for the host communities and the whole province,” said Tourism, Sport and the Arts
Minister Olga Ilich. “This particular event is unique in that the competition – along with the
community benefits - was spread quite successfully across three host cities. I want to thank each and
every organizer and volunteer for their help in staging this world-class competition.”
“Hockey Canada takes great pride in providing a quality experience for competitors and fans alike
with the staging of its events,” said Bob Nicholson, President and CEO of Hockey Canada. “The economic
assessment carried out in cooperation with the CSTA confirms that the quality extends beyond the event and
into the community with a significant financial legacy that impacts local and regional business.”
The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance conducted the study in partnership with the Province of British
Columbia - Ministry of Sport, Tourism and the Arts, Hockey Canada, the Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism
Vancouver and the City of Kelowna.
To conduct the assessment, the CSTA used the Sport Tourism Economic Assessment Model (STEAM) which
measures the economic benefits of a sport event on a community. 2,376 on-site surveys were conducted
and collated at the event, representing a confidence level of +/- 1%, 19 times out of 20. The survey
was conducted using the Techneos Entryware Pro System, which features the Entryware™ Designer software
program for preparing the questionnaires as well as Entryware™ for Palm OS running on handheld PDA’s for data
collection.
A copy of the full report is available on the website at: www.canadiansporttourism.com
About CSTA
The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance is a national, tourism industry led organization whose mission is to
improve the quality and capacity of the Canadian sport tourism product. With over 150 members,
including approximately 85 municipalities and 40 national sport organizations, the CSTA promotes and manages
the growth of Canada’s $2.4 billion sport tourism industry.
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