TOURISM – The past few months have been very busy in regards to the sport tourism file. On April 1st, 2018, we launched the Greater Victoria Sport Tourism Commission (the Commission) and on April 15th, we announced Keith Wells as the Executive Director, Sport Tourism for the organization. Keith is a fantastic individual with a deep knowledge of both the sport sector and Greater Victoria community. We could not be happier with our choice to lead the Greater Victoria Sport Tourism Commission.
Greater Victoria has a long and rich history with sports. It should come as no surprise that the sport hosting opportunities did not take long to materialize following the creation of the new sport tourism entity. The first success for Keith and the Commission was landing an exhibition match between the Canadian men’s national basketball team and the People’s Republic of China men’s national basketball team, to be held on June 24th at Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena. The game is part of the Pacific Rim Basketball Classic, a two game series with matches in Victoria and Vancouver. Several NBA players will be on Canada’s roster. The quality of the competition should be world-class and we look forward to welcoming both teams to our community.
The Greater Victoria Sports Tourism Commission is also in the middle of completing a bid for the BC 55+ Games in one of 2020, 2021 or 2022. The BC 55+ Games have never been held in Greater Victoria. This is a tremendous opportunity to bring athletes from all over British Columbia to Greater Victoria and showcase our hotels, restaurants and attractions. Typical participation for the BC 55+ Games numbers around 4,000. We are very excited to put this bid together and are hopeful for its success.
Lastly, as many of you already know Canada, along with the USA and Mexico were awarded the World Cup in 2026. Although British Columbia will not be hosting any games, there are still opportunities for Greater Victoria to host a team for its base camp. Seattle and Edmonton are possible locations for World Cup matches – both short distances away and easily accessible from Greater Victoria. Decisions on base camps will not be made until closer to 2026, but the possibility of hosting a World Cup team certainly has the local sporting community excited.
In late July we will be bringing together stakeholders and partners to discuss a short, medium and long term sports tourism strategy for the region. If you are interested in participating please reach out to Keith Wells at keith.wells@victoriasporttourism.com. It will be a busy summer for the new Greater Victoria Sport Tourism Commission, but one that comes with opportunities for success and growth in the sport tourism sector.
Paul Nursey is the President and CEO of Tourism Victoria.
