Thunder Bay hotels will begin filling up next week with fans, sponsors, officials, curling teams and their families as the Scotties Tournament of Hearts gets underway on Feb. 14.
The 10-day event to crown Canada’s women’s curling champions is expected to bolster the city’s accommodation, culinary, attraction and retail sectors with an anticipated total economic impact of about $4.1 million.
“That’s a positive impact for a winter sport,” said Tourism Thunder Bay manager Paul Pepe.
He said several programs were created for the players and fans themselves, including Tourism Thunder Bay’s Show Your Badge Incentive designed to get participants out of their rooms to enjoy the city and its businesses.
The program is accessed through the Driftscape App, created by a company based in Waterloo, Ont.
“Fans and participants can log into Driftscape and then scan a special QR code found at the concierge table at the Fort William Gardens,” he said. “During the event, participants can come in, show their badge or ticket at the participating businesses to receive incentives such as a BOGO (buy-one-get-one) deal, a per-cent discount, a dollar amount discount, a free appetizer, or preferred sitting.”
Pepe said the Show Your Badge program, which has more than 60 businesses signed up to participate, will be used for the first time at the Scotties tournament.
“It’s a great online tool for people to help them get out and explore more of the city,” Pepe said, adding, that last October, there were more than 25,000 user sessions in three weeks of people using the app to view Halloween displays around the city.
Pepe said national-level events like the Scotties also boost air connectivity which supports the airlines and the Thunder Bay International Airport.
“When you compare us to other small cities in Canada, we have better air connectivity than most small cities in Canada right now,” he pointed out. “The air industry in Canada has been challenged with labour shortages and we work closely with the airline partners making sure that they are aware of these national or international level events that are coming up. Then they make their adjustments on their equipment and schedules accordingly.”
He added that a really important part of the mix is having air connectivity and good airport partners to work with.
The last time Thunder Bay hosted the Scotties was in 2022, which Pepe said we did “under a bubble” due to the COVID pandemic.
“No fans were allowed, just the teams. Everybody had to stay in their hotels,” he said. “That limited public gatherings and forced us to run in this complete bubble without any fans and that cut back on the full economic impact of the event.”
This time, Pepe says it’s a “full-on event,” with full stands. He noted that national media coverage also goes a long way in promoting Thunder Bay as a destination. During the tournament, the major broadcasters run vignettes of the city showcasing its many features.
“That helps amplify our media value,” Pepe said. “The national media lens on the community helps amplify us, especially as a winter city, as we try to develop more winter city experiences. And it shows that we do a great job here of putting together world-class events, which helps us with other future bids as well.”
Led by the local curling clubs and funded through the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission’s Tourism Development Fund, The Scotties Tournament of Hearts will begin on Feb. 14 and continue until Feb. 23.
