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Posted Dec 13, 2014, 4:14 PM
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Melissa: fabulous.
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: YOW/CYOW/CUUP
Posts: 2,988
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Quote:
Getting ready to party like it’s 2017
It would be easy to look at Guy Laflamme’s official job title – head of Ottawa’s 2017 celebrations – and conclude he is simply a glorified party planner.
But the man who is charge of overseeing Canada’s 150th birthday bash in the capital doesn’t see it that way at all. In fact, he says, he’s far more of a businessman than a bureaucrat.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ottawa,” says Mr. Laflamme. “The city and the province can own 2017. My job is to create additional wealth for the city.”
The Ottawa native who spent years planning major events such as Winterlude and the city’s annual Canada Day celebrations for the NCC certainly appears to have no shortage of energy or enthusiasm for his latest task, which is arguably the most important of his career.
In six months on the job, Mr. Laflamme says, he and his team have received nearly 800 submissions from the public, and have incorporated about half of them into their 2017 plan. He’s met with hundreds of local business leaders, politicians and community groups to present his vision for the city’s celebrations.
So far, he says, they like what they see.
“The response has been unanimously positive,” he says. “People’s reaction was, ‘Oh my God, this is an amazing program.’ It’s clear that we’re heading on the right path. Rest assured this is not a face-painting, arts and craft program.”
Mr. Laflamme’s vision involves a slate of events that will run from January to December, with a special emphasis on the big day – July 1, 2017. Mayor Jim Watson has already publicly declared his intent to lure a “hat trick” of major events to the city, including the Juno Awards, the Grey Cup and an outdoor NHL game between the Senators and Montreal Canadiens.
Mr. Laflamme says those plans are on track, but they are far from the only “blockbuster elements” of his proposal. He’s still cagey about details, but insists they will be well worth the wait when they are revealed.
“We have events that will get people to definitely change their perception about Ottawa,” he says. “When I say bold, I mean bold.”
One of Mr. Laflamme’s first tasks was putting together a comprehensive 120-page business plan for the 2017 celebrations. The economic impact of the year-long program of events will be immense, he says before offering a raft of numbers to prove it.
The mayor’s objective of drawing 1.75 million more visitors than average to Ottawa in 2017, for a target of nearly nine million, is more than achievable, he says. With that many tourists in town, he expects a bump in the city’s average nightly hotel occupancy rate from the current 67 per cent to 75 per cent.
Other figures are just as eye-popping. He forecasts the events will create 4,000 jobs in Ottawa and generate consumer spending of more than $350 million, for an overall impact on the city’s GDP in excess of $300 million.
“Those are not pie-in-the-sky numbers,” he says flatly, adding he’s paying special attention to creating events that leave an economic legacy that continues well past 2017.
“It’s really based on best practices in the business world. They are, I think, very conservative numbers. What I’m proposing will be a huge catalyst for our tourism industry.”
In addition to his past roles as a marketing and communications co-ordinator at the NCC and the Casino du Lac-Leamy, Mr. Laflamme, 54, has taught at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management since the early ’90s.
He says that experience proved invaluable when crafting the business plan for 2017.
“I’m basically applying what I’ve been teaching for the last 25 years and (we’ll) see if this all works out,” he says. “It’s basically like starting a new business.”
He praises Mr. Watson’s foresight in creating a task force two years ago that includes the likes of Senators president Cyril Leeder and Shaw Centre CEO Pat Kelly. The committee has already laid the groundwork for the celebrations, putting Ottawa “way ahead of any other city in the country,” he says. “This is not about spending money. This is about investing money.”
He’s also partnering with organizations such as Invest Ottawa to ensure local enterprises are on board and putting their ideas to work to help create unique events.
“We want to engage all levels of the business community,” he says. “This is not just about creating fireworks and having big splashy arts and culture events. It’s also an opportunity to showcase the best of Ottawa technology.”
Mr. Laflamme, who says he’s read every major report on the country’s previous major celebrations, including Canada’s Centennial in 1967 and Quebec City’s 400th birthday in 2008, says such events can have a profoundly positive effect on the way a community sees itself.
“Ottawa 2017 can also be a transformative year in terms of the identity of the city, the personality of the city, the perception of the city of Ottawa,” he says.
He knows the city has been careful to keep its plans under wraps so far, but he says that will change in the next couple of months.
“I’m pushing the machine to accelerate the process,” says Mr. Laflamme, adding he regularly puts in 12-hour days. “Rest assured that we’re not dragging our feet.”
After living most of his life in the capital, Mr. Laflamme will say his goodbyes when the party is over. Once 2017 is in the books, he is retiring to the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
But until then, it’s full speed ahead.
“I want to leave with a bang,” he says. “This is not a job for me. This is a mission.”
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http://www.obj.ca/Local/Tourism/2014...s-2017%0D%0A/1
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