Canmore is losing out on some potential business due to the town’s lack of an adequately-sized convention centre, but that could change sometime this year, according to Andrew Nickerson, president and CEO of Canmore Business & Tourism (CBT).
Though the idea is still in the early stages, Nickerson pointed out that CBT would welcome a new facility that has the possibility of hosting large numbers that would bring in revenue for both businesses in town and the municipality itself.
“From a tourism and from an economic development perspective, we’re of the belief that it’s the single biggest thing that could happen for this town because what it will do is bring in a significant number of people at a time of year we desperately need it,” Nickerson said.
Regarding specific economic benefits, Nickerson said every visitor to town for a convention is usually worth roughly $260 per night.
“You can see very quickly that if we were to fill up a couple of hundred thousand rooms, that the actual economic impact for the community is tens of millions of dollars,” he explained.
Unlike facilities currently in place at hotels around Canmore, the idea is that a convention centre would suit much larger gatherings and special events for those visiting town.
“Where a convention centre would be different is it would be able to cater to larger meetings,” he said. “It’s really about size more than anything else. Meetings and events are something we’ve looked at as part of our long-term strategy and said it’s a real opportunity for the destination.
“We’re doing a lot of work in the market right now to bring people to the destination for this,” he continued. “We’re losing out on a lot of potential business now because we don’t have a facility that’s the size.”
At this early stage, CBT is discussing the possibility of a convention centre with Mayor John Borrowman and working to ensure the project is conducted within a certain model.
“We’ve been working with the mayor to kind of accelerate the process,” he said. “We want to be the organization that leads it forward because we want to evaluate all possible concepts for a convention centre.
“It’s something that has been suggested in a loose way for some time now,” Borrowman added. “More and more I hear the possibility of a conference centre in conversation, particularly with people in business.”
The mayor also pointed out that before this idea develops into a proposal, the public will be asked to participate in consultations to learn about the project and provide feedback.
“I think it would be a good idea to open up more meaningful dialogue within the community this year and start to understand what it is we might be talking about,” said Borrowman.
“How it might impact not only the business community, but the residential community. It’s a good time to start understanding what it might look like and do some planning in that way.
“It does relate to the sustainable funding initiative that we started for the tourism industry and it connects to a number of other areas of discussion, so it’s a good discussion to have in the community.”
Aside from revenue generated toward the municipality, Nickerson made it clear a potential proposal would not go ahead until significant benefits to both hotels and businesses in town are known.
“It’s very important to point out that what we’re trying to do is something that’s going to be beneficial to all of the hotels,” he said. “It’s also something that we want to be able to bring into the businesses of the downtown core and across the community as a whole.
“Our role as an organization is to drive the project forward and ultimately make sure that if there’s a good business case behind it then the right model is put together.”
So far, CBT has not said when or if it will make a presentation to Canmore council regarding a potential convention centre.
