Sarnia and area hotels will be jam-packed over the next two weekends.
The city's annual girls' Silver Stick hockey tournament is January 10 to 12, and the boys' event is coming up January 16 to 19.
A total of 133 teams will be coming from as far away as Colorado, Omaha, Illinois, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh.
Tourism Sarnia-Lambton's Vicky Praill said it's a great chance to showcase our area.
"We're going to see over 6,000 people coming into our area over the next two weeks," said Praill. "They're going to have a great time. We have great food and restaurants, and obviously nothing can beat our beautiful waterfront and the great retail stores that we have. They're always excited when they come, and they're always appreciative when they leave."
Praill said tourism is typically down at this time of year locally, so the hockey tournaments definitely help.
"These teams are staying in our hotels for three or four days, and they're eating breakfast, lunch and supper at our local restaurants. They'll fill up their gas tanks before they leave, they'll spend time at the movies or bowling or other activities and they'll be spending some money on retail."
Praill estimates we'll see around $2.9 million in combined revenue.
She also commends the countless volunteers who make Silver Stick possible.
