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BC Games Society and Tourism BC, through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, will oversee the Hosting BC website (www.HostingBC.ca), a marketing website showcasing the readiness of B.C. communities to host sport events. As part of its strategic plan, 2010 Legacies Now is transferring programs such as the HostingBC.ca website to trusted partners to ensure communities continue to benefit from these investments as a legacy of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Leading up to the 2010 Winter Games, Tourism BC, the Province of B.C. and 2010 Legacies Now were key partners in defining a vision for sport tourism in the province under the Hosting BC brand. As a result of the partnership's outreach, close to 50 communities contributed information to HostingBC.ca. The website now has an inventory of more than 250 summer and winter sport facilities in B.C., including photo galleries, technical venue information, local support services and key contacts in each community.
"BC Games Society and Tourism BC are ideal partners to oversee the sport tourism information on each community," said Bruce Dewar, CEO of 2010 Legacies Now. "Tourism BC has been involved with us for many years in developing a stronger sport tourism sector and brings a wealth of knowledge to the partnership. BC Games has a long history of staging sport events around the province and ensuring the communities are involved in a positive and proactive way."
"The Province of B.C. is proud to continue its involvement in this comprehensive resource that every community in B.C. can use to tell the world about their sport tourism expertise," said Kevin Krueger, B.C. Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. "This is a legacy of the 2010 Winter Games that will bring tangible results throughout the province for years to come."
With its database of information, HostingBC.ca allows training and event organizers from around the world to search by sport, facility, resort or community to find suitable locations to host their event and/or training camps in the province. The interactive maps allow facility searches in all regions of British Columbia and provide value-added information such as proximity to the nearest airports. BC Games Society will maintain the website and its database as part of its new role in sport tourism.
"We are confident the Hosting BC website will continue to be an important marketing resource for the province in helping to draw national and international sport events," said Kelly Mann, CEO of the BC Games Society. "We are excited to bring our community connections to Hosting BC."
"Every community has equal access to this valuable online B.C. sport facility inventory system," said Allison Longshore, Manager of Sales and Marketing, Tourism Abbotsford. "This makes it a great one-stop shop for event-right holders searching for the ideal venue for their event in B.C. Currently, we have listed 15 of our facilities suitable for sport events on HostingBC.ca."
For the past 10 years, 2010 Legacies Now has worked with over 4,000 organizations and groups to see all B.C. communities discovering and creating lasting legacies leading up to 2010 and beyond.
