Visitors to stream into the city next year
Annual meetings, Homecoming 2010 to bring them in
Two financial-services heavyweights have booked hotel rooms and conference space in Winnipeg for their annual general meetings next year, an early indicator 2010 should be a busy time for the city’s convention and tourism business.
The Bank of Montreal will hold its AGM at the Fairmont Winnipeg hotel on March 23, while the Credit Union Central of Canada will host its annual meeting five weeks later at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. The two events are expected to attract up to 1,350 wallet-toting delegates to the city.
Stuart Duncan, president of Destination Winnipeg, the city’s tourism and marketing arm, said that should be just the tip of the iceberg as 2010 is expected to be jam-packed with events all year long.
“It’s going to be a good year,” he said.
The crown jewel of gatherings will be Manitoba Homecoming 2010, a 12-month-long celebration of all things Manitoban that’s targeting former residents of the province to come “home” to see what they’re missing.
It will kick off with a two-month homage to Festival du Voyageur in January and February and include heavy promotion of mainstays such as the Winnipeg Folk Festival and the Morden Corn & Apple Festival. A definite focal point will be the “world’s largest social” on May 12, a provincewide celebration of Manitoba’s 140th birthday, complete with beer, DJs and assorted deli meats being placed on the shoulders of unsuspecting partiers.
“We’re targeting bringing in more than 50,000 visitors and $30 million in economic impact for Homecoming events,” he said.
The money will keep flowing when Rendez-vous Canada, the tourism industry’s annual event for international tour operators and buyers from around the world, brings its 1,300 delegates to town in May, and the Canadian Tire Dealers Association’s more than 1,000 delegates arrive in September.
There’s also the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open golf tournament at St. Charles Country Club in August, Mike Weir’s Miracle Golf Drive For Kids fundraiser, also at St. Charles, in June and the World Under-17 Hockey Championships in December.
Veronica Feldcamp, director of trade association services for Credit Union Central of Canada, said it moves the site of its annual meeting around from year to year but it always makes sure to hold it in a city where the credit union movement is strong.
“We’re planning on up to 850 delegates. We’ll have CEOs, general managers, directors from boards of credit unions across the country and senior executives. It’s going to be the first time we’ve had our AGM in Winnipeg since 1997. We’re really looking forward to it,” she said.
Ron Monet, Montreal-based spokesman for BMO, said its AGM moves from province to province as well.
It hasn’t been held in Winnipeg since 1998.
“It’s our one big chance to meet our shareholders. All of our board members, senior executives and leadership of BMO will be there,” he said, noting he’s expecting between 250 and 500 people to descend upon the city.
Duncan said 2009 has been a “tough” year for conventions and travel around the world and even with Winnipeg’s well-known economic diversity, the city hasn’t been immune to the global trend. Meeting and convention business is expected to be down seven per cent for 2009, resulting in direct spending on hotel rooms, restaurants, taxi cabs and retailers of about $45 million, down from $50 million a year ago.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/visitors-to-stream-into-the-city-next-year-70447707.html
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