Local hospitality businesses are bracing for a money-making weekend.

The Township of Langley is hosting the 2010 BC Summer Games (it started Thursday and wraps up Sunday), and the event is expected to infuse upwards of $3 million into the local economy.

Most of that money, said BC Games chair Kelly Mann, comes in the form of mothers and fathers staying in local hotels, eating at local restaurants, and shopping at local stores.

Visitor centre counsellors with Tourism Langley have been fielding inquiries for several weeks, as families learned their children would be competing and began making travel plans, said Tourism Langley executive director Deborah Kulchiski.

The most frequently asked questions revolved around location of the specific venues, and proximity to the closest hotels or campsites, she explained.

"At a time when other communities in the Lower Mainland are experiencing a typical post-Olympic slowdown, Langley should benefit this year from the opportunities that come with sport hosting," Kulchiski said, noting that sport tourism is the fastest growing segment of the industry in Canada and world-wide.

"Many of our accommodation providers are still beaming from record-breaking revenues during the 2010 Olympic Games in February, and the BC Summer Games should result in high occupancies this month," she said.

Even though his restaurant is located a little off the beaten track, Adrian's At the Airport owner Demetre "Jim" Exarhopoulos is preparing for an onslaught of hungry visitors this weekend.

He's bringing in extra staff, and probably even a few extra tables and chairs (he can currently house 100 people inside, and about 60 more on his patio overlooking the airport tarmac) for the brief influx.

Exarhopoulos and his wife have been running the 216th Street restaurant seven days a week for the past 10 years, and were excited to hear about the Games and all it might offer their business and the community.

"I hope I am busy," Exarhopoulos said, "I might even put on some extra specials."

Fort Camping is always booked up solid at this time of the year, but the facilities in Brae Island Regional Park have a few reservations from Games specific clients, said operator Stan Duckworth.

He just met with the Games organizers last week, and was told a bit more about the activities expected in the village during the four days of competition.

There's going to be a lot of activity in and around Fort Langley, which will also be good for the merchants, said Duckworth, who does double duty as the chair of the Fort's business association.

Specific to these Games, the Fort Langley National Historic Site is expecting to see an surge in patrons during the sporting event, and hopes to feel some long-term benefits, as well.

"Fort Langley National Historic Site is one of many activities and attractions in Langley that spectators and athletes attending the BC Summer Games will be able to enjoy in between sporting events," said manager John Aldag.

On top of the fort's regular summer program, staff are organizing a few "Games" specific activities.

"In addition to our action-packed summer program, visitors will be able to participate in traditional Aboriginal games throughout the event, like competitive Sto:lo Strength Games and Slahal. Kids will also love the Salmon Run - a relay with salmon depicting the role children played in packing salmon in barrels to export during Fort Langley's operation in the mid-1800s," Aldag explained.

In what has been described as a quiet year - thus far - for summer travel to the region, the Games is a welcome event among Langley's hotel and motel operators, said Mary Carey-Marshall of Sandman Hotel Group in Walnut Grove.

Her company is the major hotel sponsor for the Games, and as a result will house most of the dignitaries related to the event - as it has infrequently since March for meetings and the torchlighting ceremony.

Likewise, they've also heard from family and friends of the athletes who are coming to town for the Games.

"We have quite a number of people staying at the hotel," Carey-Marshall said, estimating at least 60 per cent of their 144-room facility will be Games-related occupants.

But the benefits are not exclusive to her hotel, which is expected to be at capacity for at least the four days of the Games - possibly more.

"We're not the only location," she said. "The spin off is not to just one property. The benefit is to our whole community."

For example, one local hotel is expected to house 30 visiting bus drivers who are chauffeuring the athletes around. She also predicts most restaurants, gas stations, and convenience stores will see a big spike in business.

"We're really going to get our community on the map for this," Carey-Marshall said.

Generally speaking, an influx of close to 3,500 participants and their families will be seen on the streets and restaurants of the Township, said Mann.

The economic benefits, short term and long term, will be significant, he concluded.