Ripples from the centre

Events held at the Kimberley Conference & Athlete Training Centre support the entire Kimberley community

Grant Sharam is the general manager of the Kimberley Conference & Athlete Training Centre in Kimberley, B.C. — Marie Milner photo

“The thing that the conference centre does,” said Grant Sharam, manager of the Kimberley Conference & Athlete Training Centre, “and the thing that is probably overlooked—and it’s probably our fault because we don’t crow about it enough—is that the conference centre brings a lot of people into town. Those people spend a lot of money. The community is aware of the taxpayer cost of the centre, but they may not appreciate its economic benefits to the whole community.”

For example, the group of 250 conference attendees that used the conference centre in early October 2015 spent about $250,000 during their visit. They bought 2,500 bed nights and ate 7,500 meals during their 10-day stay—and they didn’t eat at the conference centre, they ate at restaurants in town.

Most of the people who attend weddings at the conference centre are from out of town. The bride and groom might have a connection with Kimberley or Cranbrook, but the great majority of the guests come from somewhere else, and they often stay for an extra day or two in the Kimberley area. That means they also spend money.

Some businesses, including restaurants, golf courses and accommodators, likely recognize that their extra business is a spinoff from events at the conference centre, but some may not.

“The conference centre is here to attract people to town,” Sharam said. “If it wasn’t here, a lot of the groups that we see come to town to stay and to spend money just wouldn’t be here, no matter how wonderful our attractions are.”

Sharam grew up in a small town of 3,000 people in Australia, so he feels at home in Kimberley and is invested in its economic health and growth. He believes the more that’s done to enhance the growth of small business, the more the entire community benefits.

“It’s very important to me that the conference centre is successful in bringing people into town and getting them to stay,” said Sharam. “I’m part of a great group of people working for that. We work very closely with the chamber and with Tourism Kimberley and the other organizations that are trying to promote Kimberley as a destination.”