In musicians’ circles, the term “exposure bucks” is often viewed with derision or even helplessness
It’s a saying that illustrates how bands aren’t paid actual currency for their performance, where compensation instead comes in the form of getting in front of new fans and eyeballs. The hope in those cases is for repeat fans or business in the future
It appears Richmond stands to make exposure bucks now that the seven FIFA World Cup matches have concluded in Vancouver.
Tourism Richmond CEO Nancy Small says that at least in the local context, the sheer volume of fandom seen in Vancouver hasn’t materialized in big numbers on the other side of the Fraser River
“The projections and the goals that we had anticipated a year ago, in terms of budgets and forecasts, have not been met in the hotels,” Small said
The data Small pulled from was proprietary and she was unable to provide hard numbers or year-over-year comparisons. She’s heard anecdotally that the local hospitality community is humming along and performing as well, if not better, than expected
The Richmond Chamber of Commerce had little to no data yet from members to illustrate the World Cup’s local impacts
The time of year – peak summer travel season – has been perhaps the biggest factor in the lack of spillover from Vancouver, Small says. The 2010 Winter Olympics had a captive audience due to the dip in February travel, whereas the current World Cup proceedings happened right as school was dismissed for the year and travel season kicked off
“The projection in the early part of the year was that it was going to be very similar to what a normal June or July would be from a hotel perspective, unfortunately that’s not what has happened,” Small says
The current slowdown appears to be an outlier, however, as Small says the period spanning January to May saw robust numbers in local hotels. She expects the latter part of the year to do gangbusters as well
Despite the relative lull, Small says playing the long game is where the tourism sector’s focus should be. Just as Expo 86 and the 2010 Games got tens of millions of eyeballs fixated on Metro Vancouver, the same has happened with the World Cup
It’s hoped that years from now, those first-time visitors will return, stay longer and visit nearby municipalities such as Richmond
“I think the overall vibe within Metro Vancouver has been outstanding,” Small says. “The exposure as a FIFA host city will be incredible for us in the future.”
Meanwhile, stats from YVR spanning June 8 to July 10 show approximately 2.8 million passengers travelling through the airport, an average of about 86,000 passengers per day and peak days reaching close to 92,000
“Depending on the day, this represents an approximately five to 10 per cent increase in passenger volumes over the same period last year, which was a record year in YVR’s history,” reads a statement from YVR
During the 2010 Olympics, YVR saw a total of 1.3 million athletes, VIPs, media and airport travellers
“While the Olympics and FIFA are very different events in terms of travel patterns, our overall passenger volumes today are significantly higher than they were in 2010, so there is not a direct comparison to be made,” the statement says
Airport officials note that updated passenger counts won’t be available until later this summer and that the numbers won’t be definitively attributable to the World Cup – a busy cruise season and typical peak travel patterns will also play a factor in the overall numbers
The city, meanwhile, has hosted seven events and watch parties with four more to come. Attendance numbers have ranged between 300 to 2,500 per event
“Richmond has fully embraced World Cup fever,” city spokesperson Gerina Heathe told the Richmond News via email.“The city’s ‘Richmond Celebrates Soccer’ series is running free, family-friendly events through mid-July, turning neighbourhood parks into lively gathering spots filled with food, games and activities for all ages. It’s not just about the matches themselves, but about bringing the community together, with a mood across these events that’s upbeat, welcoming and unmistakably celebratory.”
