Economic Impacts Of Cirque Significant

PRINCE GEORGE – There are a number of shows remaining with Cirque du Soleil’s “Crystal” performance, including three shows tomorrow. With a hundred performers and crew alone, there’s an injection of cash into the local economy

“Every time we get a show at the CN Centre, it fills our community,” says Erica Hummel, CEO of Tourism Prince George. “The hotels are busy, our restaurants are busy.”

Tourism organizations often use a calculation called “STEAM” to determine the impact of events on the local economy.  

“It depends on the type of visitor. For a visitor like this [Cirque], they’re buying tickets, a hotel night, restaurants, souvenirs, shopping,” says Hummel. “Typically they’ll spend $300 on a trip if they’re from out of town. So the economic impact really, really big. If there are 3,500 people coming to town for these shows, that’s almost a million dollars in economic impact.”