Ontario government continue to help boost local sports tourism

The Ontario government is now accepting applications for the first intake of their 2026-2027 sports hosting program.

The program provides funding to communities and sports organizations to host national and international amateur competitions in an attempt to boost sports tourism.

Director of sports tourism at Tourism London, Zanth Jarvis says that the program has allowed London to host numerous major events such as the Brier and the Ontario Summer Games.

“Really this funding is a game changer, to allow us to bid and host different events, and we’re competing against other cities and other provinces and other countries, that all have similar programs, and so without this funding, we would not be able to host the number of events that we do host.” says Jarvis about the funding the program provides.

The program has been running since 2018 and provides an annual investment of $3 million from the Ontario government.

On average the program brings approximately 9,500 amateur athletes, 3,000 volunteers and 100,000 community supporters to Ontario each year.

The program assists communities by bringing in visitors to Ontario and giving a boost to the local economy through local business.

“These investments allow us to bring in these events and the resulting tourism gains that are associated, that fill our hotels, our restaurants, all of our tourism attractions.” Says Jarvis about the impact the program has on the London community.

In a press release, the Ontario government says, “The program has supported over 230 events since 2018, contributing approximately $220 million to Ontario’s economy.”

The impact is not just directly on tourism and the economy however, as the Ontario government says “By helping communities host these events, the program not only drives economic activity and boosts local tourism, but it also gives Ontario athletes the elite-competition experience they need to excel on the world stage, right here at home.”

Although the program is not new and has been around over 5 years now, Jarvis says that funding is never guaranteed to continue.

By Logan Libiec, 106.9 The X