TORONTO

'Indian Oscars' to boost Toronto tourism in June

Saira Peesker CTV.ca News Staff
Published Saturday, June 4, 2011 7:13AM EDT Last Updated Saturday, May 19, 2012 4:57AM EDT

Sri Lankan born Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez poses with the trophy at the International Indian Film Academy, or IIFA, awards event in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 5, 2010. (AP / Eranga Jayawardena)

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When the Indian International Film Academy rolls into Toronto in late June, it's going to bring more than just three days of South Asian glitz and glamour to the city.

Expected to generate millions of dollars for the tourism industry, the IIFAs will also expose Toronto to the people of India and the world. It's something business-owners in the city's tourism industry say could be even more valuable in the long run.

The event -- which features a film festival, dozens of cultural events and a June 25 awards show casually dubbed the "Indian Oscars" -- brought about CDN$16 million to Yorkshire, England when it was held there in 2007.

According to a document provided to CTV.ca by Jesse Bernstein, an Ontario-based spokesperson for the IIFA, the event generated about $18.6 million in Dubai in 2006, a whopping $26.1 million in Amsterdam in 2005 and $9.8 million in Singapore in 2004.

About 40,000 visitors -- including musicians, filmmakers and industry people from India, and Bollywood fans from around the world -- are expected in Toronto for IIFA-related events.

Tickets to the IIFA Awards at the Rogers Centre in Toronto were priced between $49 and $295, with all 16,000 sold by the end of 2009.

Tourism Toronto vice-president of communications Andrew Weir said his organization won't know how many hotels were booked for the event until early July, but he expects it will be a booming few weeks for the city's innkeepers.

But it's not just the downtown core that is expected to see the financial glow: several surrounding municipalities with significant South Asian populations are holding their own series of events, including Mississauga, Markham and Brampton.

Weir said the IIFAs have a special draw because it's rare that a top-tier event is open to members of the public.

"People can actually buy a ticket and go to this," he told CTV.ca. "A lot of people are viewing this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Weir cautions against looking at the IIFA's economic impact as something that ends with the month of June. He said his organization, a trade group that represents tourism-related businesses in the city, has a long-term strategy of marketing Toronto to India -- and the IIFAs will speed along that process.

"We've got to diversity and attract more of those sophisticated international travelers to our city -- they stay longer, they do more," he said. "India (was) our second-fastest growing market for visitors to Toronto last year. This event is an opportunity to raise more awareness, and give the world a sense of what Toronto is."

A look at increased tourism in previous IIFA host cities