On Feb. 11 the sporting community got together with business leaders and politicians at a workshop to discuss the Sunshine Coast's sport tourism industry.
Sport tourism is a very significant element in the world of tourism and has become a highly competitive niche in the business. As interest and participation in sport grows within the leisure industry, the desire for people to travel and compete or be spectators has mushroomed.
The morning began very early with a live webcast broadcast by Legacies Now from Prince George.
The speaker, Graeme Hicks from Albury, Australia, is considered by his city, his region and the state government of New South Wales to be an expert in the areas of business, sport and recreation and tourism and cultural activities.
Hicks is the mastermind behind the successful efforts of Albury Wodonga to transform their region. He set up the infrastructure for the Albury-Wodonga Festival of Sport and coordinated it for more than 10 years, initially voluntarily and then on a professional basis. He also developed Olympic business opportunities, pre-Olympic and Paralympic training impunities and cultural reunions around those aspects of the Olympic games.
He gave an important message to those in attendance: use the facilities you have first and develop first-class competitive opportunities for your community to grow and prosper in the years to come.
Albury-Wodonga is about six-and-a-half hours away from Sidney, and its sport tourism industry continues to thrive to the tune of over more than $40 million to this small community. After the webcast, attendees were taken through a workshop designed to help assess the Sunshine Coast's opportunities for increasing the sport tourism industry.
Workshop facilitators Laura Plant (British Columbia Tourism Industry manager) and Janis Cookson (director, Sport Tourism and Active Legacies 2010 Legacies Now) directed the attendees to see how sport tourism impacted other communities around the country and allowed them to see what could be possible on the Sunshine Coast. They were treated to information about unique sporting and cultural events such as the Transplant Games, where people who have just received a transplant compete together, showing that they can overcome this life crisis. There were also discussions on how smaller events can increase economic development and enrich social and community legacies, such as youth development, increased fitness and health levels and community and cultural celebrations for communities that host these events.
A highlight for this workshop was the fact that so many different sporting groups participated with business leaders and district and town officials to create a lot of synergy for more sport tourism involvement in the future of our communities.
