(February 20, 2024) – Canada’s newest emerging sport tourism industry event is heading to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The Spo Ho Xperience™ Event Planning Team and the City of Charlottetown are pleased to announce today that Spo Ho Xperience™ (SPOHOX24™) will take place on October 28-29, 2024, at the PEI Brewing Company and the Confederation Centre of the Arts. The two hotel partners for the event will be The Arts Hotel and the Holman Grand Hotel.
2024 marks the second edition of the exclusive Spo Ho Xperience™. The inaugural unrivaled, interactive, boutique gathering of sport hosting industry professionals took place in 2023. The event draws together sport event rightsholders, tourism professionals, event management firms and suppliers/vendors from the sport hosting industry to encounter cutting-edge ideas, discover new partnerships, and immerse themselves in forward-focused experiences that elevate their sport hosting game.
The event is projected to generate $480,000 in economic impact for the City of Charlottetown.
“Charlottetown is thrilled to host Spo Ho Xperience™ 2024,” said Mayor Philip Brown. “We look forward to extending a warm Island welcome to sports organizations, tourism agencies and representatives from across Canada and the United States, and I know they’ll be excited to come back and work with local partners, including the City, once they see what we have to offer.”
“We are very pleased to bring SPOHOX™ to Atlantic Canada for the first time,” said Gary Curgin, Sport Travel and Event Management Consultant and one of the four event co-chairs. “We know our attendees will enjoy the warm hospitality and historic charm of Charlottetown. A local flavour will be applied to the educational components of the event, the social events, and the venue site visits which will all demonstrate why Charlottetown is an award-winning sport event hosting destination. This will be a truly memorable edition of SPOHOX™ for everyone who attends.”
“We look forward to welcoming SPOHOX24™ to the PEI Brewing Company,” said Kevin Murphy, President, Murphy Hospitality Group. “We are known for creating memorable experiences for each guest who comes through our doors whether that is in one of our food & beverage locations, breweries, or hotels. This is an exciting opportunity for our company to showcase its talents to a national sport audience, who I am sure will be impressed by the event experience we deliver.” A new component of SPOHOX™ in 2024 is a hosted buyer program designed to offer a fully funded attendee experience at SPOHOX™ for pre-qualified sport event organizers/event rights holders. Applications for the program are now being accepted at www.SpoHoXperience.ca and event registration opens on March 6, 2024.
About Spo Ho Xperience™
Spo Ho Xperience™ is a boutique-style event that attracts DISRUPTERS, CHANGEMAKERS and FORWARD THINKERS in the sport hosting industry. Attendees are carefully curated to create an atmosphere of creative thinking and innovative approaches to sport hosting, the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry in Canada with over $7.4 billion in annual spending by domestic and international visitors (as calculated in 2019).
About City of Charlottetown
Sitting atop Maclean’s magazine’s 2021 Best Communities in Canada ranking, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, strikes a perfect balance: small town charm, big energy, and island vibes. The romantic streetscapes, stunning water vistas, trendy restaurants & cafes, livelier-than-ever calendar of festivals and events, and array of welcoming accommodations create an ideal escape from everyday hustle and bustle. Canada’s roots run deep here with the very idea of this country being conceived in our historic city.
Since 2018, Charlottetown has ranked #1 on the Canada Sport Hosting Index for sport hosting cities with populations less than 50,000, and in 2019 rose (and maintained) 6th overall in the country, the smallest city in the Top 10, which features primarily major metropolitan centres.
For more Information:
Krista Benoit, Event Director, Spo Ho Xperience™
Tel: 819-682-5298
Email: info@SpoHoXperience.ca
Website: www.SpoHoXperience.ca
SPOHOX™ on LinkedIn, (X)Twitter, and Instagram
Janice Fogarty
Senior Communications Officer, City of Charlottetown
Tel: 902-629-4149 Email: jfogarty@charlottetown.ca
