ONTARIO MAJOR FESTIVALS AND EVENTS ATTRACTION RESEARCH STUDY FINAL REPORT Prepared for the Ontario Tourism Competitiveness Study Ministry of Tourism Prepared by: Consulting In association with: Research Resolutions February 2009 © Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2009 Although copyright in the research papers is held by the Queen's Printer for Ontario, the papers were prepared by external companies and their conclusions do not necessarily represent the views of the Government of Ontario. The research papers were commissioned by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism for the Tourism Competitiveness Study and as such their conclusions are intended for this purpose only and shall not be relied-upon by third parties. ISBN 978-1-4249-8929-4 (PDF) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 STUDY BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 STUDY PURPOSE.............................................................................................................................. 1 1.3 SCOPE OF STUDY............................................................................................................................. 1 2.0 A WORKING DEFINITION FOR A “MAJOR INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OR EVENT” ............. 3 2.1 A DISCUSSION OF WORKING DEFINITIONS ......................................................................................... 3 2.2 DO “FESTIVALS” BELONG IN AN EVENTS TOURISM STRATEGY?........................................................... 3 2.3 DOES MC&IT BELONG IN AN EVENTS TOURISM STRATEGY? .............................................................. 4 2.4 TWO APPROACHES TO SEGMENTATION ............................................................................................. 5 2.5 TYPES OF EVENTS............................................................................................................................ 6 2.6 IN SEARCH OF A NUMBER OR A PHRASE ............................................................................................ 6 2.7 TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE PERFORMANCE METRICS – ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ............... 9 2.8 RECOMMENDED DEFINITION............................................................................................................ 10 3.0 SCOPE OF ONTARIO’S FESTIVALS & EVENTS SECTOR ......................................................... 11 3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 11 3.2 SIZE OF THE FESTIVALS & EVENTS SECTOR IN ONTARIO .................................................................. 11 3.3 WHAT TAMS CAN OFFER: MARKET POTENTIAL FOR FESTIVALS AND SPORTING EVENTS .................. 16 4.0 AN OVERVIEW OF ONTARIO’S MAJOR INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS AND EVENTS .......... 19 4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 20 4.2 MAJOR SPORTING EVENTS & COMPETITIONS................................................................................... 20 4.3 MAJOR CULTURAL FESTIVALS AND EVENTS ..................................................................................... 24 4.4 BUSINESS EVENTS ......................................................................................................................... 25 4.5 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................... 27 5.0 CURRENT SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS: A REVIEW OF STRATEGIES, PROGRAMS & POLICIES TO SUPPORT ONTARIO’S FESTIVALS & EVENTS ............................................................................... 28 5.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 28 5.2 A REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES ................................................................................................... 28 5.3 STRATEGIES AND POLICIES PERTAINING TO FESTIVALS AND EVENTS ................................................ 29 5.4 ONTARIO’S PATCHWORK OF FUNDING FOR FESTIVALS AND EVENTS .................................................. 34 5.5 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................... 36 6.0 STRENGTHS AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF ONTARIO’S FESTIVAL & EVENTS....... 37 6.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 37 6.2 SPORTING EVENTS......................................................................................................................... 37 6.3 CULTURAL FESTIVALS & EVENTS..................................................................................................... 39 6.4 BUSINESS EVENTS ......................................................................................................................... 38 7.0 DEVELOPING A 15-YEAR CALENDAR OF EVENTS .................................................................. 39 7.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 39 7.2 SPORTING EVENTS......................................................................................................................... 39 7.3 CULTURAL FESTIVALS AND EVENTS ................................................................................................. 40 7.4 BUSINESS EVENTS ......................................................................................................................... 41 7.5 CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................. 41 Ontario Major Festivals and Events Attraction Research Study PKF Consulting Inc. in association with Research Resolutions 2009 8.0 BEST PRACTICES IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS .......................................................................... 43 8.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 43 8.2 SUMMARY OF MAJOR EVENT STRATEGIC PRACTICES BY JURISDICTION ............................................. 44 9.0 TOWARDS A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR A MAJOR EVENTS TOURISM STRATEGY ... 56 9.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 56 9.2 BEST PRACTICES – MAJOR INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS AND EVENTS STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT ........ 56 9.3 CURRENT SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF ONTARIO’S MAJOR FESTIVALS AND EVENTS SECTOR ............... 59 9.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR ONTARIO ................................................. 65 9.5 IMPLEMENTATION CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................ 85 APPENDIX A: Various Definitions of Events and Event Tourism APPENDIX B: Size of Ontario’s Festivals & Events Sector APPENDIX C: Celebrate Ontario & Festivals and Events Ontario – 2008 Initiatives APPENDIX D: Comparative Strategic Practices in National & International Jurisdictions Ontario Major Festivals and Events Attraction Research Study PKF Consulting Inc. in association with Research Resolutions 2009 i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction As part of the Ontario Tourism Competitiveness Study, the Ministry of Tourism (“MTOUR”) retained PKF Consulting in association with Research Resolutions to complete an Ontario Major Festivals and Events Attraction Research Study to determine the size of the Ontario festival and event industry and to review the best practices of other jurisdictions’ festival and event attraction and support programs. Definition Research The first task for the consultants was to develop a working definition of a “major international festival and event” for the purposes of the study. Our research has determined that there are various ways to interpret this definition, depending on a jurisdiction’s priorities and event strategies. The most relevant definition for the Ministry of Tourism’s purposes was identified as one that would be expected to generate an extraordinarily high level of tourism and high visibility for the host location. Criteria for determining the benefits of a major international event for Ontario is expected to be based on a matrix of relevant tourism, social, economic and environmental factors – a triple bottom line. Furthermore, the research led to a recommendation for MTOUR to transition from a Festivals and Events Strategy to a two-tier strategy. The first tier would be a Major Events Tourism Strategy. This strategy would de-emphasize locally oriented community events and emphasize the regional, “iconic” or mega aspect of events and a tourist focus in the strategic planning process. The 2nd tier would focus on locally- oriented Regional Emerging Festivals & Events that may have the potential to transition from a local event to one with an international draw. For a potential major events tourism strategy, it was recommended that MTOUR use the same sub- categories as do other major jurisdictions: Sporting events Cultural events Business events Ontario’s Situational Analysis In the absence of comprehensive