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Gore Bay – August 31, 2006 LAMBAC
Press Release
Analysis of the
recently completed Business Retention
and Expansion surveys have identified
one and multi-day events and festivals,
such as the Manitoulin Classic Car and
Bike Rally, Haweater Weekend and the
Massey Street Painting Festival, as key
economic drivers in local communities.
Over 80% of tourism operators identified
events as beneficial to their businesses
and in the retail sector, increased
numbers of festivals and events ranked
second on their list of priorities for
improving the overall business climate.
This is not surprising given that the
5,000 plus events held in Ontario each
year generate over $800 million in
economic activity.
In addition to the economic
benefits, festivals and events also
improve the overall quality of life in
the region. To assist in promoting
local events and festivals, the LaCloche
Manitoulin Business Assistance
Corporation (LAMBAC) is spearheading a
drive to collect a data base of all
aboriginal and non-aboriginal festivals
and events in the local area. Once the
information is collected, it will be fed
into Festivals and Events Ontario’s
website (www.festivalsandeventsontario.ca)
thus allowing for regional, provincial,
national and indeed, international
publicity. If you are an event or
festival organizer in the area bounded
by Manitoulin Island and Highway 17 from
Nairn Centre to the east and Walford to
the west and would like to benefit from
this incredible exposure, please contact
John Foster, LAMBAC’s Economic
Development Officer at 705-282-3215 or
john@lambac.org.
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