2013 Annual Report Building Momentum Growing Success
About Regina Regional Opportunities Commission About RROC
mission
Regina Regional Opportunities Commission (RROC) is the agency responsible for advancing economic development and tourism in the Regina region.
Identify, develop and promote opportunities that advance economic prosperity for those who live, work, visit and invest in the Regina region.
The Economic Development division creates and implements economic strategies to grow and sustain prosperity in the Regina region.
mandate
This is accomplished through promotion of the region for business and career development, and by developing and executing strategies to retain, expand, attract and help start up new businesses. The Tourism division, Tourism Regina, is the official destination marketing organization representing Regina and region. In collaboration with the Regina region’s tourism sector and industry partners, Tourism Regina works to promote Regina as a destination of choice through our special events, attractions and unique experiences. Together, these divisions help to ensure that the Regina region prospers as a vibrant and diversified economy for businesses and investors, a strong destination experience for visitors, and a place of choice with a high quality of life and career opportunities for residents.
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The mandate of RROC was established by Regina City Bylaw # 2009-20. • Create and implement an economic development strategy to grow and sustain prosperity in the Regina region. • Encourage the retention, development, attraction and growth of business and tourism products and services for those who live, work, visit and invest in the Regina region. • Market and promote the Regina region for business and tourism.
Board of Directors Message from the Chair & CEO
Current Board of Directors
This past year was one of growth, momentum and opportunity. Regina continued to lead in GDP growth, outperforming many other cities and exceeding the national forecast. Visitors were at an all-time high anchored by two major events, the JUNO Awards in April and then the 101st Grey Cup Festival in November.
Murad Al-Katib, RROC Board Chair President and CEO Alliance Grain Traders Inc./SaskCan Pulse Trading
This is a good time to live and work in the Regina region. World demand for our natural resources is high. Our population is growing. We are experiencing the strongest growth period since pioneer times and people are enjoying the benefits of this growth. Incomes are rising. Jobs and opportunities are plentiful. People are feeling good about their lives and their prospects. By an overwhelming margin, most Saskatchewan people expect to be doing even better in the next four years. The industry growth and tourism potential for Regina and the region is unlimited. However, to ensure a prosperous future for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren, we need to make plans to diversify our economy so that it is less dependent on natural resources. Now is the time to aggressively advance forward a bold, new collaborative vision and growth strategy for the future. 2014 will be a year of renewal. Working with our shareholder, the City of Regina, our stakeholders and key industry partners, we will be developing a long term plan that provides leadership to the economic growth strategy for the Regina region. The role of an effective economic development agency has never been more important. The highlights of 2013 are the building blocks to RROC’s transformation into a dominant industry and tourism leader in Canada. We encourage you to look to the future and the incredible opportunities that will allow us to grow and sustain prosperity in the Regina region.
Sincerely,
Frank Hart, RROC Vice-Chair President and Managing Director Greystone Managed Investments Inc. Tony Coppola Chief Financial Officer Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation Neil Donnelly Vice President Events and Entertainment Evraz Place Michael Fougere Mayor City of Regina Dale Griesser President Avison Young Commercial, Real Estate Rick Krieger Owner, McNally’s Tavern Partner, Broken Rack Billiards, Midnight Media Mark Lang Partner KPMG, LLP Cari Lemieux Saskatchewan Operations Manager, d3h hotels General Manager, Days Inn East Regina Marla Preston General Manager Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza Vianne Timmons President and Vice-Chancellor University of Regina
Murad Al-Katib Chair of the Board
John D. Lee President and CEO
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2013 Top Highlights Investment Attraction • 19 active prospects resulted in three actual construction projects in 2013 valued at $66 million • CLAAS of America opens Western Canadian Parts Distribution and North American Training Academy in Regina - confirming their confidence in the region and future of the industry • Over 200 participants attended the Regional Planning Summit which created momentum and support to advance ongoing regional planning opportunities • Launch of a new industry site selection tool on reginaroc.com that provides a more focused approach to industrial location and evaluation for companies looking to relocate to Regina
Business Support • 24 new businesses established by immigrant entrpreneurs representing over $4.7 million in new investments • Pathfinding and educational support provided to more that 600 visits through the Business Resource Centre • 52 entrepreneurs participated in the Progress2Capital Business Planning Competition (P2C) with 7 new businesses launched • Successful launch of the Saskatchewan Business Challenge - the new brand for P2C
Community investment • Leveraged the value of over $200,000 of in-kind contributions
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2013 Top Highlights Event Attraction • Provided professional bid development and support to more than 12 new event bids • Won the right to host 5 new events in Regina in the coming years with an economic impact of over $5.5 million • Multi-stakeholder major event strategy being finalized • Among 2013’s event highlights, we hosted the 2013 JUNO Awards, and the 101st Grey Cup and Festival. These major events had a combined provincial economic impact of $120 million, out of which Regina benefited from $100 million in economic impact specifically to the city and region
Tourism Marketing • 2013 saw the introduction of the newly refreshed Tourism Regina brand and identity, and the newly created tourismregina.com website • The 2013 multimedia marketing campaign was very successful resulting in 60% increase in web traffic and significant gains across all social media platforms • Efforts working with Travel Media throughout the year resulted in Tourism Regina hosting 37 travel writers from 6 countries and across Canada whose media coverage is valued at $226,045 • Tourism Regina connected 65 tour operators and international travel agents including ones based in the USA, UK, China, India, and Mexico
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Economic Performance GDP Growth Up 5% in 2013 According to the Conference Board of Canada, Regina’s GDP growth rate for 2013 was an astounding 5.0% and is forecasted to grow by 3.5% in 2014.This growth is due in part to our strong goods-producing sector and is double the average Canadian growth rate in 2013. For 2014, Regina is forecasted to have the 2nd highest GDP growth rate in Canada.
Unemployment Rate at 3.3% In 2013, Regina’s unemployment rate was a remarkable 3.3%, nearly half of the Canadian unemployment rate which was 7.2%. The forecasted unemployment rate for Regina in 2014 is expected to be less than 4%. Regina has the highest cumulative employment growth rate at 15% from 2010 to 2013. Regina is also expected to see about 7,000 new jobs created by the end of 2016.
Income Growth $8,000 higher Regina’s personal income per capital, or income growth, which was $47,969 in 2013, was nearly $8,000 dollars higher than the average Canadian income growth. This income growth is forecasted to increase to $48,523 in Regina in 2014.
3,000 New Housing Starts Regina’s booming economy lifted housing starts above 3,000 units in 2012 & 2013 – more than triple the 30 year average.
Tourism Spending Up 27.5% 2011 tourism spending was more than 364.4 million, a 27.5% increase over 2010. Visitors to Regina were also up significantly with 2.3 million visiting our city, over the 1.6 million in 2010.
Contact us: Regina Regional Opportunities Commission Tourism Regina 1925 Rose St. Regina, SK S4P 3P1 TF: 1-800-661-5099 reginaroc.com tourismregina.com