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The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Saturday, July 25, 2015
Nanaimo’s annual ‘Dragon Boat, Silly Boat, Bathtub’ festival schedule has a significant impact on the region’s economy.
[AARON HINKS/DAILY NEWS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION]
Huge boost for tourism in Nanaimo DARRELL BELLAART DAILY NEWS
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anaimo’s accommodation industry is basking in the glow of its strongest year in recent memory, and festivals and events have helped make that happen. Now the push is on to add on to the festivals that have proven successful at bringing people to Nanaimo, mainly during July. Nanaimo’s 49th Marine Festival represents the biggest single downtown event. It’s also the third major event to run weekends, back-to-back in Nanaimo. The Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival and the Silly Boat Regatta succeed in putting people downtown, and this year, hotel rooms were filled to capacity when the B.C. Athletics Jamboree, a trackand-field event, happened on the dragon boat weekend.
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“This weekend, I know, from my property, and talking to a lot of other hoteliers, we’re running full again.” Dan Brady, NHA chairman
“I think it’s fair to say (room) occupancy for that weekend, across Nanaimo, was close to 100 per cent,” said Dan Brady, Nanaimo Hospitality Association chairman. Brady, who manages the Harbourside Howard Johnson Hotel said the event helped buoy already strong tourism numbers, by filling more rooms and restaurant seats than usual during the historically busy month of July. “This weekend, I know, from my property, and talking to a lot
of other hoteliers, we’re running full again.” Again, sports is pushing up the numbers during this historically busy weekend, with the B.C. Baseball 18U Midget AAA provincial baseball championships at Serauxmen Stadium and Mariner Field. But that’s a one-off, and the industry is working to add new attractions to draw visitors. The hospitality association will soon start accepting proposals for new festivals. Successful proposals would qualify for funding from a two-percent hotel tax. “It has to increase overnight visits,” Brady said. Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce CEO Kim Smythe, an experienced festival organizer, said seed money is good, but successful events need qualified organizers. “You look at the success Comox
just had with their big music festival in July, it tends to attract thousands,” Smythe said. Pemberton Music Festival is another good example, as is the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, held in August. “It has to be a festival that is a good draw,” Smythe said. August remains under-utilized. Besides the annual Vancouver Island Exhibition, in August, “there’s the (Nanaimo) blues festival,” which hopes for higher attendance moving forward. “I think we need to make a concerted effort to adding to the events we have, and August is an obvious time. “I’d like to see more happening in town in August and in September.” A good example of an event to build on is the Cans Food Festival, held in the Old City Quarter in September, and “those shoulder periods are import-
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BRING THE FAMILY
ant,” Smythe said. “We need something more and we need to develop our potential for that. “We have some good venues here. “It’s unfortunate in lacking people with enough professional expertise to properly organize a good festival, and raise the money to do that. I think that’s one of the things we’re lacking, and I’ve discussed this with Tourism.” Brady said once the grant program is running, “our goal is to have events every month of the year.”
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