Charlottetown awarded for being good sport host

Charlottetown continues to make its mark in sport tourism in Canada.

The city of Charlottetown has maintainedits number one ranking for cities under a population of 50,000 for hosting sport events in Canada.

Now, the city has climbed to sixth overall in the country, competing against cities such as Toronto and Vancouver.

It takes a lot of hard work for Charlottetown to remain in the top spot in the under 50,000 population category said Wayne Long, events development officer for Charlottetown.

"It takes hard work.It takes relationship building.It takes executing successful events."

The Sport Events Congress 2019 wrapped up Thursday in Ottawa.

The event brings together people from across the country who work in sports tourism to recognizetheir efforts.

Charlottetown, for its size, is a leader when it comes to sport tourism. Organizations will come to the city asking them to bid on events, Long said.

"Sport tourism is a very vibrant industry. Continues to remain the fastest growing segment of the Canadian tourism industry."

In Prince Edward Island sport tourism accounts for approximately $68 million, Long said.

Over the course of the next six weeks Charlottetown will host five national championships, in sports includinghockey, dodgeball and basketball.

"Charlottetown is a destination on its own. We receive 1.1 million visitors annually in and around the Charlottetown area," said Long.

Charlottetown tourism officer Laurel Lea won the Rising Star of the Year Award at the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance Awardsfor her work withCharlottetown's sport tourism organization SCORE.

Lea has led bid development, been a part of multiple host committees and has helped secure funding to enable hosting of events.

"It speaks volumes of what we are achieving and how we are moving our file forward in Charlottetown. And Laurel is starting to have a ripple effect on the national scene as well," Long said.

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