(Originally published in TOURISM)
Fairs and exhibitions across the country are not only contributing to featuring local communities’ sense of pride and identity; they are also nurturing the tourism economy.
When we think of summer fairs, the first ones that come to mind are the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto, the 10-day Stampede in Calgary, the Capital Ex in Edmonton and the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) in Vancouver. These fairs "are proving to be meccas to small business,” notes the Business Edge’s Monte Stewart in a recent article: “The self-billed Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, which generated $49.37 million in revenues for its non‑profit board last year, often involves major corporate partners, especially oil and gas firms. This year's Canadian National Exhibition is expected to attract about 1.45 million visitors for its 18‑day run.”
But even small fairs are big business. TOURISM talked to Glen Duck, executive director of the Saskatchewan Association of Agricultural Societies and Exhibitions (SAASE). “The fairs that are run in small communities are traditionally an integral part of these communities,” he says. “Most of the fairs have been running for at least 100 years.”
He mentions as an example one of the newest of his member agricultural societies, the Carlton Trail Ag Society which holds the Bruno Cherry Festival each year. “The community of Bruno, which has a population of about 500, attracts 2,500 people to the cherry festival annually. The fairs create gathering places; they bring a lot of visitors.”
Some communities will host a rodeo and other different types of events. SAASE, which has 62 member organizations across Saskatchewan, conducted an economic impact study a few years ago to evaluate the benefits stemming from all the province’s fairs. It found there are 101 million dollars spent at fair events annually, and 192 million in spending at events organized at all the other facilities the agricultural societies run over the course of the year.
There is also a significant impact in terms of jobs, according to Duck: “The fair industry within Saskatchewan involves 400 full‑time/part‑time positions and 800 seasonal/casual workers. “But of real importance is the over 200,000 hours of volunteer time that is donated by members in the communities, who help put on the fair and the event. That is a tremendous economic impact in itself,” he points out.
“When people come to fairs, they eat in local restaurants, stay in local hotels, buy fuel and groceries locally. They are camping in the community; there are cattle and livestock sales, and people are sending money in the communities around those events.”
When we consider these economic impacts, if fairs didn’t exist, we’d have to invent them.
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