CANTON — Grant McDonald, strategic director for Cimarron Global Solutions, visited St. Lawrence County last week as part of the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce’s sports tourism initiative.
As stated on Cimarron’s website, MacDonald is a veteran sports tourism and major events expert with more than 30 years of experience working with host cities, organizations and venues across Canada.
After spending nearly a week touring the county, visiting waterways, touring university facilities and riding trail systems, MacDonald got a glimpse into the community she has been studying in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the past year.
“The pride of St. Lawrence County is clear,” McDonald said. “The combination of natural and man-made assets provides fantastic opportunities as venues for traditional sports and outdoor recreational activities, can bring in business and improve the quality of life for all residents.”
On Thursday, MacDonald met with the chamber’s board of directors over breakfast to discuss the findings and insights into the opportunities available for sports tourism.
He said the recovery of global tourism after the pandemic has been led by sports tourism, which has surpassed 2019 levels, while other forms of tourism are still lagging somewhat behind.
McDonald told the committee that sports tourism can be transformative. When people travel for sport – athletes, relatives and friends of athletes, and spectators – host communities have the opportunity to connect through local arts, culture, culinary culture and other aspects of their local communities.
“These are all opportunities to transform the experience,” he said.
McDonald said a good sports tourism strategy will leverage existing built and natural assets, contribute to business growth, build an image for St. Lawrence County, foster partnerships and create a sustainable tourism plan that contributes to the economy throughout all four seasons.
He said the primary goal of the sports tourism strategy is to increase visitor numbers and spending in St. Lawrence County and improve the quality of life and well-being of residents.
Specific goals are:
• Identify and promote the County’s sport tourism assets, attractions and experiences.
• Develop and improve sports tourism infrastructure and facilities in the county.
• Organize and support sports tourism events and programs.
• Build sports tourism capacity across the county.
• Foster partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders and organisations.
McDonald said he doesn’t intend to implement a short-term strike strategy.
“We’re going to be here next year,” he told executives. “What we build together will be transformative.”
Key strategies, goals and objectives of his plan include completing a sports tourism inventory and assessment, developing a sports tourism leadership group, meeting and collaborating with sports tourism stakeholders, developing a sports tourism brand and marketing plan, investing in sports tourism infrastructure and facilities, supporting and attracting sports tourism events, and monitoring and evaluating the sports tourism strategy and its impacts.
“The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce team is committed to connecting opportunities and stakeholders across the county and telling the unique story of the Upstate to New York, surrounding states, Canada and beyond,” said MacDonald. “The future is bright for sports tourism in St. Lawrence County.”
