From the Ice Cube concert at CN Centre to the BC Natural Resources Forum and everything else in between, 2024 will go down as another solid year for events according to Tourism Prince George.
During a year-end interview with Vista Radio, CEO Colin Carson stated our hotels were pretty busy.
“We are probably looking at ending the year right around that 1.75 million dollars in hotel room tax collected, which is a pretty strong year for tourism in Prince George. It’s not quite the same level as 2023 but a really strong year none-the-less.”
“That tells us that not only was the occupancy strong in Prince George but also the hotel room rates as well.”
Carson added moving to their temporary visitor centre location at Canada Games Plaza led to a spike in foot traffic.
“We weren’t really sure how that was going to work over the months of June, July and, August when we were fully operating in that temporary container, we saw an increase of about 15% more visitor interactions than our location on 1st Avenue in about 13 thousand fewer hours.”
In October of 2023, Tourism PG announced its move to the Civic Centre from its 1st Avenue storefront.
He added with 2025 slowly on the horizon, next month’s BC Natural Resources Forum will provide yet another major economic boost during the slow winter months.
“If you think about the direct spending of those people, you are upwards of a thousand delegates attending in that conference and a large number of those people from out of town are staying in hotels, using taxis or ride share and going to restaurants or shopping.”
“It is a significant impact.”
Carson was also pleased to see the return of Para-Biathlon and World Cup competitions return to Otway filling yet another winter void.
“The 2024 Para Biathlon world championships and Para Nordic World Cup were fantastic events to see in Prince George again and we were thrilled to see the event not only happen because of the economic impact but also the community spirit that comes along with it.”
Other events such as Northern Fan Con, PG Symphony Orchestra concerts and performances from Cold Snap and Theatre Northwest also contributed to the economy according to Carson.
The 2025 BC Natural Resources Forum runs from January 14th to 16th at the PG Conference and Civic Centre.
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