The economic impact assessment of the XI FINA World Championships, held in Montreal from July 16 - 31, 2005, was released today by the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance.

The event generated a total estimated economic activity of $181.2 million in the Province of Quebec, including $136.8 million in the City of Montreal. These totals resulted from $75.3 million in combined operations, capital and visitors spending. The event contributed over $72.4 million to the provincial GDP. Nearly $36.8 million in wages and salaries were paid in
Montreal, with an additional $11.7 million paid throughout the rest of the province. Overall, approximately 1,974 jobs were supported by hosting the Championships, including 1,490 in Montreal and a further 484 in the rest of the province. The total level of taxes received by all levels of governments as a result of the event was estimated to be over $29 million, distributed as follows:

• $12.1 million accrued to the federal government
• $13.7 million to the Province of Quebec
• $3.3 million to municipal governments, including $2.6 million to the City of Montreal.

The Championships, which featured five aquatic disciplines: diving, open water, swimming, synchronized swimming, and water polo, attracted a total of 3,224 athletes, coaches and officials and an additional 24,500 out-of-town spectators. It is estimated that 106,093 unique spectators attended the event.

The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance conducted the study in partnership with the Aquatic Federation of Canada and Canadian Heritage (Sport Canada). To conduct the assessment, the CSTA used the Sport Tourism Economic Assessment Model (STEAM) which measures the economic benefits of a sport event on a community.

Approximately 960 on-site surveys were conducted and collated at the event, providing the survey results with a confidence level of +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The survey was conducted using the Techneos Entryware Pro System, which features the Entryware Designer software program for preparing the questionnaires as well as Entryware for Palm OS running on handheld PDA's for data collection.

"The Aquatic Federation of Canada (AFC) is very pleased with the positive economic benefits that were generated by the 2005 World Aquatic Championships," stated Linda Cuthbert, President AFC. "We have demonstrated the public's attraction to world class aquatic events, which will serve as important legacy for future hosting opportunities."

"The success of the FINA World Aquatic Championships once again demonstrates Canada's capacity to host high quality international sport events," said Rick Traer, CEO of the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance. "Hosting these events enhances tourism, economic development, investment in infrastructure and provides an opportunity to showcase Canada to the world. It also illustrates excellent ROI on the public sector's investment in the event
through the taxes and employment figures generated in key sectors of our economy."

A copy of the full report is available in both official languages on the website at: http://www.canadiansporttourism.com/eng_cat.cfm?CatID=5 

About CSTA
The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance is a tourism industry led organization that promotes sport tourism as an economic development initiative at the community level. The CSTA services over 150 members across Canada, including approximately 85 municipalities, 35 national sport, multi-sport and major games organizations and variety of other national and provincial sport and tourism industry partners. The CSTA has developed a number of leading edge industry tools, including the Sport Tourism Economic Assessment Model (STEAM), the world's first web-based economic impact model specifically designed to measure the economic impact of a sport event on a community.

Contact:
Rick Traer, CEO
Tel: (613) 688-5843