National events boost city’s economy

If you woke up this morning feeling a little smarter, a little sharper of mind, it could well be the city’s collective consciousness at work. Two national-scale brain-a-poloozas are underway at the same time in the city. Northern FanCon (NFC) is waving the flags of popular culture at CN Centre while the Canadian Association of Science Centres (CASC) conference is pushing the buttons of science, technology, engineering, art and math at The Exploration Place. These thinkfests are also lucrative for the local economy. It has triggered local money to be spent into the city’s economy, in the organizational and operational phases, and both also draw investment and human interaction in from outside communities. In both cases, international attention is now on Prince George. "Hosting a national conference versus a provincial conference means that delegates are coming from all across Canada and at times the U.S. and overseas," said Shirly Prokopchuk, the Meetings & Conventions manager for Tourism Prince George. "For the majority of these delegates, it will be their first time in Prince George. The first impression is what counts. On the tourism side, it is our job as ambassadors of Prince George to provide that friendly, caring and positive experience, so that they will want to come back. With this means more visitors to Prince George which equals a increase in economic impact." The location that hosts the most impactful conferences for the economy is the Prince George Civic & Convention Centre, due to its size and downtown location. It played a major role in the 2015 Canada Winter Games, the annual BC Natural Resources Forum, and the biennial Council of Forest Industries convention and the Canadian Bioeconomy Conference and Exhibition. CN Centre is another place that holds court for national gatherings, both sport and industrial. "Hosting conferences […]

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