The Canadian Tourism Commission says its efforts to market last year’s 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede paid off, luring thousands of visitors to Canada.
The commission received a special one-time allocation of $5 million from the federal government to promote the event internationally.
It now says that over 8,900 travellers booked trips to Canada in the six months leading up to the centennial celebrations “as a direct result” of its campaigns in Brazil, Germany, South Korea and the U.K. The estimate is based on an analysis done by the market research consultancy Longwoods International.
Spending by those visitors injected more than $9.2 million into the Canadian economy, the commission says. As well, awareness of the Stampede and Alberta is expected to lead to future visits by international tourists.
The 10-day 2012 Stampede received a record 1.4 million visitors, up 20% from 2011.
Overall, a CTC spokesperson said, $40 was generated in tourism revenue for every advertising dollar spent marketing Canada around the world in 2012, according to a preliminary analysis.
