(GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALBERTA).
(GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALBERTA)
The Econometric Research Limited in 2011 analyzed the 2010 Arctic Winter Games and the economic impacts associated with the games. The Arctic Winter Games brings international athletes from among other regions Alaska, Greenland, Northern Alberta, and Russia. The residual economic value and the impacts of the games to the local, provincial, and national sectors are significant. The economic impact study gave a snapshot of the changes in the economy resulting from acquiring, developing, programming, operations, and use of facilities during the games.
The study used the Sports Impacts Model-Alberta (SIMA). The SIMA model captures sport-related expenditure in the economic regions such as the counties and provinces in Alberta. It integrates input-output analysis and ideas from location theory. The SIMA model utilizes data from economic and technical databases published by Statistics Canada. The study analyzed the expenditure of visitors who used funds in the region.
The study assumed that online purchase of tickets provided identity of the ticket holders while walk-up ticket sales did not. The researchers projected the distribution of the walk-up tickets to five geographic identities i.e. Alberta residents (excluding Grande Prairie residents), Alberta residents (including Grande Prairies residents), Canadian residents (not including Alberta Residents), United States of America Residents, and international residents (excluding USA residents).
The SIMA inputs accounted for the differences in Alberta and Grande Prairie regions. The study used the SIMA data to find averages of the ticket differences. The 2008 financial information by the Statistics Canada served as indicators on various aspects of the economy along sides the international travel survey, and travel surveys from Canadian residents. The length of stay was seven days with an estimation that forty percent of the spectators were from Grande Prairie and surrounding regions. However, there was an assumption that this group did not stay overnight.
The findings of the study were as follows. In the whole province (Alberta), estimations from operations and expenditure from direct visitors attributable to hosting the games were $7.65 million. The resulting economic impact i.e. value added to the economy was $10.81 million. Further, the expenditure created two hundred and eight person-years of employment in the province. Total taxation in the three levels of government was about $3.92 million. The federal government collected $2.7 million while the province and local government collected $895,000 and $307,000 respectively.
In Grande Prairie, operations expenditure and direct visitors contributions to the economy were estimated to be $7.65 million. The value addition to the overall economy in the Grande Prairie region was $7.29 million. The expenditure associated with hosting the games created a total of one hundred and eighty-two person-years of employment. Besides, the taxation revenues accrued on the three levels of government were $2.7 million. The federal government collected about $1.9 million of the total tax revenues while the provincial and the local government collected $594,000 and $204,000 respectively. The visitors spend approximately $1.25 million on travel, food, and accommodation while the organizers used about $6.41 million in sustaining the games.
I agree with the research that all the economic sectors in regions received some economic impact associated with the games with Grande Prairie getting the largest share. Besides, the authors acknowledged that the quantitative effect did not entirely reflect the economic effects fully because the study did not include volunteer activities and businesses from various parts of the Alberta, Grand Prairie, and Canada.
It follows that alternative conclusions would have involved projections of the impacts of factors not included in the study. To sum it up, the economic effects of the 2010 Arctic games are significant to the economy of the local, provincial, and federal government in Canada.
Reference
2010 Arctic Winter Games Grande Prairie, Alberta March 2010: Event Analysis and Economic Impact Study. (2011). The Econometric Research Limited. Retrieved on February 27, 2016 from http://www.arcticwintergames.org/2010%20Economic%20Impact%20Study.pdf
