The Junior All-Native Tournament, which wraps up Friday, has brought 1,200 athletes on 91 basketball teams from more than 100 First Nations to Nanaimo — and that's just the start.
Nanaimo’s economy is poised to reap millions of dollars in revenue this year because of special events such as this week’s Junior All-Native basketball tournament and a busy year for conferences which fill hotel rooms, pack restaurants and bolster retail sales.
When driving home on Monday night, Good saw something she’d never seen before. “All the drive-throughs were packed,” she said. Nanaimo was short on hotel rooms and the additional rooms allow the Conference Centre to compete for larger conferences. The Marriott is pleased to get some bookings given the time line for making these arrangements, he said.The Conference Centre, which opened in 2008, has 33 conferences lined so far for this year, said general manager Chuck Loewen. “The year looks very, very good and we are booking out to 2024 and 2025 already.” This year’s bookings already represent “one of the best years we’ve had.”
Nanaimo now has 500 to 600 rooms in the downtown core. “That’s what conventions want. They want a hotel close or attached.”
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