By all accounts the Lhtako Quesnel BC Winter Games in February were a success.
A report to that effect was presented to Quesnel City Council on Tuesday (Apr 23) night.
Amy Reid, the Manager of Economic Development & Tourism, noted that there up to 3,000 people in Quesnel for the Games.
Leading up to the event, there were a number of improvements to local facilities.
“Including Troll Ski Resort, Hallis Lake with their permanent biathlon range and other trail improvements, the Quesnel Gymnastics Club, the Curling Club, the Arts and Rec Centre, Trolls Freestyle Club which was a new club established with support from Freestyle BC, and the Nechako Karate Club and Kororo Judo Club, they both received mats.”
Reid also reported that the community could also benefit financially.
“The Winter Games Society anticipates there will be a legacy fund as the result of generous cash and in kind donations which will stay in the community. In total, there were about 263 thousand in kind donations and over 270 thousand in cash donations.”
Reid noted that the actual amount of a legacy fund has not been tallied yes, but will be soon.
She also talked about a survey that visitors completed.
“55 percent of visitors who came to Quesnel indicated that they were visiting for the first time, 68.6 percent indicated that Quesnel was better than they expected or they were pleasantly surprised by the community, and 39.2 percent said they would definitely visit again, and 44.3 percent said they would consider another visit in the summer or with more snow in the winter.”