The third annual Atlantic Canada Event Summit

The City of St. John’s, in partnership with STEP St. John’s (Sport Tourism Event Partnership St. John’s), will play host to the third annual Atlantic Canada Event Summit. The Summit is being held March 8-10, 2017 at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland in conjunction with the Tim Hortons Brier and will have Mayor Dennis O’Keefe serving as Honourary Chair. The Summit is Atlantic Canada’s only conference dedicated to the sport and major event hosting industry.

“We are extremely pleased to host the 2017 Event Atlantic Summit,” said Dennis O’Keefe, Mayor of the City of St. John’s. “We have been working diligently with our partners to bring this event to St. John’s, which supports our long term goal to increase sport event tourism as an economic driver for the entire region. St. John’s has an array of amenities to offer; Mile One Centre, the newly upgraded St. John’s Convention Centre, and King George V Soccer Stadium are just a few examples, making us an ideal location for current and future events.”

“STEP St. John’s is excited to host the 2017 Event Atlantic Summit in conjunction with the Tim Hortons Brier and the opportunity to showcase the City of St. John’s as an event destination,” said STEP St. John’s, Chair, Danny Breen. “We know through our work with STEP St. John’s the importance that events play in our city and provincial tourism economy. It’s important our communities and partners come together and enhance hosting best practices.”  

“St. John’s is well known for its hosting reputation and we’re delighted to bring together this important gathering of municipal, community and event industry leaders from across Atlantic Canada,” said Event Atlantic Chair, Wayne Long. “As a region, it’s important we work together to bring in more event business. Events not only make communities more vibrant and attractive, they also provide important economic and cultural benefits.”

 The Summit will feature sessions in; the how and why of municipal event sponsorship, evaluating and managing event risk, social media marketing with festivals and events. It will also feature a number of dynamic keynote speakers including; Peter Inch, Chair, Curling Canada, Brent Barootes, President and CEO, The Partnership Group and Greg Stremlaw, General Manager, Olympics/Chef de Mission PyeongChang 2018, CBC Sports, in addition to speakers representing all four Atlantic Provinces”.

Sport tourism is a $6.1 billion industry in Canada and is one of the fastest growing tourism sectors. A growing number of Atlantic Canadian communities are using events and sport hosting as a community economic development initiative. These events attract new visitors and enhance awareness of the destinations.

The Atlantic Canada Event Summit will bring together political, community and event leaders from all four Atlantic Provinces with the goals of; increasing collaboration with event hosting in Atlantic Canada, examining the sharing of event best practices and  enhancing opportunities with events for the region through attraction, successful execution and activation.

For more information on the Summit and to register, please visit www.eventatlantic.ca or follow us on twitter @EventAtlantic.