Chapter 6. Events, Culture, Heritage, and Sport (Entertainment)
Chapter 6. Events, Culture, Heritage, and Sport (Entertainment)
6.5 Conclusion
Across Canada and within BC, the range of activities to entertain and delight travellers runs from authentic explorations of cultural phenomena to pure amusement. Those working in the entertainment tourism sector know that providing a friendly, welcoming experience is a key component in sustaining any tourism destination. Whether through festivals, events, attractions, or new virtual components, the tourism industry relies on entertainment to complete packages and ensure guests, whether business or leisure travellers, increase their spending and enjoyment.
Thus far we’ve explored the key sectors of transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, and recreation and entertainment. The final sector, travel services, brings these all together, and is explored in more detail in Chapter 7.
Key Terms
- Agritourism: tourism experiences that highlight rural destinations and prominently feature agricultural operations
- Art museums: museums that collect historical and modern works of art for educational purposes and to preserve them for future generations
- Botanical garden: a garden that displays native and/or non-native plants and trees, often running educational programming
- British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC): the rown corporation responsible for operating casinos, lotteries, bingo halls, and online gaming in the province of BC
- Business Events Industry Coalition of Canada (BEICC): an advocacy group for the meetings and events industry in Canada
- Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA): created in 2000, an industry organization funded by the Canadian Tourism Commission to increase Canadian capacity to attract and host sport tourism events
- Community gaming centres (CGCs): small-scale gaming establishments, typically in the form of bingo halls
- Conferences: business events that have specific themes and are held for smaller, focused groups
- Conventions: business events that generally have very large attendance, are held annually in different locations each year, and usually require a bidding process
- Culinary tourism: tourism experiences where the key focus is on local and regional food and drink, often highlighting the heritage of products involved and techniques associated with their production
- Cultural/heritage tourism: when tourists travel to a specific destination in order to participate in a cultural or heritage-related event
- Entertainment: (as it relates to tourism) includes attending festivals, events, fairs, spectator sports, zoos, botanical gardens, historic sites, cultural venues, attractions, museums, and galleries
- Event: a happening at a given place and time, usually of some importance, celebrating or commemorating a special occasion; can include mega-events, special events, hallmark events, festivals, and local community events
- Festival: a public event that features multiple activities in celebration of a culture, an anniversary or histori