The Championship serves as the first event evaluated through Sport Tourism Canada’s newly redeveloped STEAMPRO economic impact platform.
Sport Tourism Canada has released the first Economic Impact Assessment completed using its newly redeveloped STEAMPRO platform, with the 2026 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship serving as the inaugural event analysis. The assessment found that the championship generated more than $4.8 million in overall economic activity throughout Nova Scotia, including nearly $3.3 million in Cape Breton.
Held from January 10-18, 2026, in Sydney and Membertou, the championship brought together eight of the world’s top national women’s hockey teams for nine days of elite international competition. The event attracted more than 2,100 out-of-town visitors and culminated in a championship game between the United States and Canada that drew over 5,000 spectators.
Survey results collected during the championship demonstrated the event’s strong tourism impact. Approximately 74% of out-of-town attendees indicated the tournament was the sole reason for their visit to Cape Breton, while 83% stayed overnight.
“As part of Hockey Canada’s commitment to growing women’s and girls’ hockey, we were thrilled to have the 2026 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship return to Canada for the first time in a decade and showcase the best up-and-coming women’s hockey players from around the world,” said D’Arcy Hutcheson, director of events for Hockey Canada. “Our two host communities went above and beyond to make the athletes, coaches, staff and teams feel welcome, and we could not have asked for warmer Maritime hospitality from everyone involved with the event.”
Beyond its immediate economic impact, the championship also generated long-term tourism benefits for the destination. More than 85% of visitors indicated they were likely to return to Cape Breton in the future, highlighting the role major sporting events play in introducing new visitors to host communities and encouraging future travel.
Introducing the Next Generation of STEAMPRO
The IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship marks the first event to be evaluated using Sport Tourism Canada’s redeveloped STEAMPRO platform. The enhanced model combines updated tourism intelligence, localized economic multipliers and a modernized reporting framework to provide event organizers, rights holders and host communities with more transparent and actionable insights into the value of hosting sport events.
Beyond updated methodologies, the new reporting format introduces enhanced visualizations, streamlined storytelling and improved stakeholder reporting tools designed to help event organizers better communicate economic and tourism outcomes to partners, funders and host communities.
“The IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship provided an ideal opportunity to showcase the next generation of Sport Tourism Canada’s economic impact assessment capabilities,” said Derek Mager, Sport Tourism Canada’s Senior Consultant and Program Manager of Economic Impact, who analyzed the data and prepared the report. “The redeveloped STEAMPRO platform combines the rigorous methodology that the sport tourism industry relies upon with enhanced reporting and visualization tools that make economic impact findings more accessible, actionable, and meaningful for stakeholders.”
Hutcheson added that the updated reporting format provides an even stronger foundation for evaluating the success of major events.
“We are excited that the redeveloped STEAMPRO platform allows us to receive even more impactful data from our events hosted in Canada and will help generate insights from our future events that will further benefit communities from coast to coast to coast,” she said.
Are you interested in using primary data collected from event attendees at your event? Work with an STC Economic Impact Consultant to analyze the actual economic impact of your event in a specific Canadian community. Contact Sport Tourism Canada today to learn more.