Tourism Kelowna 2019 Report to the Community by Tourism Kelowna

2019 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY

VISION Kelowna and the region will be internationally recognized as the four-season, outdoor destination of choice in North America by 2023.

MISSION To support and market the tourism destination of Kelowna in a sustainable manner that strengthens the economy and enriches the quality of life for Central Okanagan residents.

BRAND PROMISE In Kelowna, you will explore, sip, play, and be fully centred when you find yourself surrounded by the best the Okanagan Valley has to offer, all within easy reach.

CONTENTS 02

President & CEO Message

2019 Board of Directors

Who We Are

Who We Serve

Industry Performance

Strategic Plan

Increasing High-Value Visitation

Growing In-Destination Spending

Strengthening Sustainable Growth of the Destination

Operating with Organizational Excellence

Administration & Finance

The Road Ahead

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO

A BENCHMARK YEAR "We now consider 2019 as a benchmark year for the local tourism industry. Strong visitation numbers grew Kelowna’s average hotel occupancy to 65.7%—the highest on record— with 10 of 12 months posting increases over the previous year."

2 | 2019 Report to the Community

Collaboration, new growth markets, and the importance of local community—these are some of the themes that reflect Kelowna’s tourism industry in 2019. In this Report to the Community, we invite you to review and celebrate some of the memorable successes our stakeholders, our team, and our industry achieved. We now consider 2019 as a benchmark year for the local tourism industry. Strong visitation numbers grew Kelowna’s average hotel occupancy to 65.7%—the highest on record—with 10 of 12 months posting increases over the previous year. Our four-season focus is driving this dispersal, with new marketing campaigns last year generating a 4% increase in winter occupancy and a close to 5% winter revenue increase. Together with the City of Kelowna, our major events strategy also secures new revenue, clearly demonstrated in 2019 with the $3.3 million of combined out-of-town spending in our community by hosting 2019 Skate Canada International. Local community is also driving this shift. New community engagement in 2019 showed 95% of residents surveyed felt tourism was a vitally important industry in Kelowna. Eighty-six percent also ranked responsible tourism as a priority, validating Tourism Kelowna’s commitment to

help our tourism businesses grow our national reputation as a sustainable tourism destination. Nowhere is this “Love for Kelowna” more evident than at the Kelowna Visitor Centre, a valued community hub that now welcomes more than 320,000 people annually—a combination of visitors and residents. Collaboration is the foundation of tourism and we are grateful for our continuing partnership with the City of Kelowna on events, marketing, and visitor services. Our success would not be possible without the positive vision of the Tourism Kelowna Board of Directors, the support of our volunteers, and the trust of our stakeholders and the communities we serve. Thank you for making 2019 such as spectacular year. We look forward to working with you to continue developing our destination and inviting visitors to experience everything Canada’s four-season playground has to offer.

Lisanne Ballantyne President & CEO – Tourism Kelowna

#exploreKelowna

Executive Committee Thom Killingsworth, Chair | Kelowna Yacht Club Joseph Clohessy, Vice Chair | Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Okanagan Resort Stan Martindale, Past Chair | Ramada by Wyndham Kelowna Hotel & Conference Centre

2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Strong leadership and guidance are provided to Tourism Kelowna by its Board of Directors, representing a broad spectrum of Kelowna's tourism industry. These board members volunteer their time and contribute extensive knowledge and experience to ensure the organization is accountable and performance driven.

WHO WE ARE

Tourism Kelowna is the lead Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) for Kelowna and the Kelowna Census Metropolitan Area, which equates geographically to the Central Okanagan Regional District. Incorporated in 2008 as a not-for-profit society, Tourism Kelowna works in partnership with travel industry organizations, local business and economic development agencies, over 400 tourism and hospitality businesses, area municipalities, and residents.

Business & Destination Development

Marketing & Communications

Visitor Experience

• Promotes Kelowna and its surrounding communities as a location for meetings, conferences, sports, and events.

• Markets Kelowna and its surrounding communities to travellers through our paid, earned, and owned media efforts.

• Works with a variety of stakeholders, organizations, and local businesses to elevate the visitor experience.

•

Works in partnership with third-party planners to make their events successful and to increase opportunities for our stakeholders to market to this high- value segment of traveller.

• Uses a long-term planning approach, to promote a holistic view of the destination and to strengthen its long-term viability.

Executes a mix of strategically-timed and always-on campaigns, through direct investment and pres- ence in our key geographic markets, to drive four-season visitation.

• Works in partnership with our regional, provincial, and national marketing organizations to reach global markets.

•

Delivers exceptional customer service in-person at our downtown Kelowna Visitor Centre and at our Airport Information Kiosk, as well as through our mobile and online visitor servicing efforts.

• Helps travellers—during the trip-planning stage and when they are in-market—to connect with tourism-related businesses. Administration & Finance • Works to implement our strategic plan and monitors organizational performance. • Supports our Board of Directors and oversees operations of the society. • Provides oversight and stewardship of finance and human resources.

Our outstanding team of more than 60 visitor experience volunteers works hard to ensure visitors receive the recommendations and information they need. Our volunteers can be found at our Kelowna Visitor Centre, Airport Information Kiosk, and throughout the Central Okanagan with our mobile visitor centre. In 2019, our team of volunteers provided almost 5,900 hours of service.

4 | 2019 Report to the Community

WHO WE SERVE

Our primary purpose is to draw visitors to our destination, to enhance their experience while they are here, and to create repeat visitors who will become ambassadors for Kelowna and its surrounding communities, recommending our destination to their friends, family, and colleagues.

Stakeholders

Tourism Industry

Visitors

All tourism businesses and organizations in the Kelowna Census Metropolitan Area are considered stakeholders with Tourism Kelowna without paying a membership fee. In addition, more than 400 tourism businesses and organizations participate in Tourism Kelowna’s stakeholder marketing programs. Participation in our entry-level Base Advertising Program (formerly the Necessities Advertising Package) links tourism businesses with travellers through our website, Official Visitors’ Guide, and Kelowna Visitor Centre. All Base Program participants located within the Central Okanagan become voting stakeholders of the Tourism Kelowna Society and can run for our Board of Directors. Active Base Program participants can also take part in our other advertising programs:

We work in conjunction with regional, provincial, and national tourism associations to generate inbound travel, actively supporting the development of the industry and increasing the economic benefit for area tourism businesses and our city.

We attract visitors through our marketing initiatives, inspiring and motivating them to visit Kelowna and the Central Okanagan. At our Kelowna Visitor Centre, airport information kiosk, and mobile visitor centre, as well as through our online channels, our team is dedicated to delivering an outstanding experience—during both the planning phase and while in-market—to the almost 2 million visitors that travel to our region each year.

• Golf Kelowna • Local Flavours • Meetings & Conferences Sales • Outdoor Trails • Visitor Centre Digital Display Advertising • Wine Trails • Winter Ski, Stay, & Play

Additional programs available to all stakeholders, regardless of whether they participate in the Base Program, include display advertising in the Official Visitors’ Guide and brochure racking options at the Kelowna Visitor Centre and at the Kelowna International Airport.

Local Community In addition to strengthening our local economy, we also work to enrich the quality of life for Central Okanagan residents. Through our destination development efforts, we consult and collaborate with residents to strengthen the long-term sustainability of our destination.

Visitor Profile*

64% REPEAT VISITATIONS

Other

1% Travel for Business & Conventions

3.8

AVERAGE PARTY SIZE

International Visitors

13% Visitors from Canada

Travel for Leisure

55%

Travel to Visit Family & Friends

80%

35%

Visitors from USA

$452

4.5

AVERAGE SPEND PER TRIP PER PERSON

AVERAGE DAYS/ LENGTH OF STAY

*Tourism Kelowna, 2018 Visitor Intercept Survey. InterVistas

2019 Report to the Community | 5

INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE

300 K

100

18 M

60 50 40 30 20

250 K 14 M 200 K

12 M

10 M 150 K 8M 100 K

4M 50 K

10 0

2019 TOTAL HOTEL ROOM REVENUE ($) •

16 M

2019 TOTAL OVERNIGHT VISITOR TRIPS**

2019 HOTEL OCCUPANCY (%)*

Kelowna’s hotel occupancy rate for 2019 was up 2.1 percentage points over 2018, with 10 of 12 months posting increases over the previous year. At 65.7%, the 2019 hotel occupancy rate is the highest on record.* In comparison, BC's hotel occupancy in 2019 remained on par with 2018, while nationally, the hotel occupancy dropped by 1.1 points year-over-year. Over the past year, destination visitation numbers were collected using new technology; this method provided quicker reporting and allowed us to see monthly statistics. In 2019, an approximate 1.8 million overnight visitor trips** were taken in Kelowna and its neighbouring communities. In 2020, we will be able to compare year-over-year visitation numbers to note trends and opportunities. For the second year in a row, the Kelowna International Airport (YLW) was the tenth busiest airport in Canada and served more than 2 million passengers.***

2019 Industry Indicators

2M 0K

JAN

FEB

MAR

2019 Hotel Occupancy

APR

MAY

JUN

2019 Visitation

JUL

AUG

SEPT

OCT

NOV

DEC

2019 Total Hotel Room Revenue

• Total Hotel Room Revenue was calculated from the Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT)

amount received by Tourism Kelowna, through the City of Kelowna, from the Ministry of Finance.

Economic Impact of Tourism

$1.25 BILLION

$620 MILLION

$337 MILLION

$142 MILLION

11,890

TOTAL ECONOMIC OUTPUT

IN TOTAL GDP

VISITOR SPENDING

IN TAX REVENUES

TOTAL JOBS CREATED

*CBRE Hotels’ Trends in the Hotel Industry National Market with reproduction and use of information subject to CBRE Limited Disclaimer / Terms of Use as detailed at cbre.ca. **Telus Insights. TELUS has implemented industry-leading Privacy by Design standards to ensure that privacy is not compromised. All the data analyzed by TELUS Insights is strongly de-identified, meaning it cannot be traced back to an individual. It is also aggregated into large data pools to reveal mass-movement patterns and trends, and extrapolated to be representative of the total Canadian population as a further means of ensuring that privacy is fully protected at all times. For further information, please visit: telus.com/insights. ***Kelowna International Airport (YLW) Facts & Statistics |  Tourism Kelowna, 2016 Economic Impact of Tourism. InterVistas

6 | 2019 Report to the Community

2019-2023

STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC 2023 PRIORITIES OBJECTIVES

KEY INITIATIVES

Increase High-Value Visitation

Kelowna and area recognized as a sought-after, four-season outdoor destination of choice in North America. Visitation to the region grows to 3 million annually.

Experience Marketing • Increase visitation growth from October to March. • Leverage availability of big data to attract visitors who deliver maximum economic value. • Use the collaborative Economic Sector Strategy and Major Events Strategy to increase meetings and events business in soft-season months.

Grow In-Destination Spending

Tourism is recognized as a major driver of positive economic development in the Central Okanagan.

Visitor Experience

Economic impact of the sector grows to $1.28 billion annually.

• Develop customer service mapping to deliver a positive brand experience that will grow repeat visitor numbers.

• Expand the reach and influence of visitor services to connect more visitors with local businesses.

• Support the continual introduction of year-round tourism products and experiences. • Develop a regional corridor strategy to work collaboratively and efficiently with other tourism destinations within the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) service area.

Strengthen Sustainable Growth of the Destination

Residents, stakeholders, and visitors all report high satisfaction with value generated by the tourism sector. Visitors are viewed as delivering economic, social, and environmental value.

Destination Development • Work with local community to co-create and implement a Tourism Destination Master Plan in support of Kelowna’s 2040 vision. • Establish the Kelowna Visitor Centre as a community hub of tourism-related services. • Develop an integrated budget model that supports both marketing and development activities. • Educate visitors and residents on responsible tourism principles and practices. • Ensure communities trust the DMO as stewards of public funds and experts in facilitating destination development. 2019 Report to the Community | 7

INCREASING HIGH-VALUE VISITATION

Creative partnerships and collaborative efforts have contributed to growth in seasonal visitation, to expanded awareness of Kelowna among high-value travel markets, and to increased business from meetings, conferences, and events.

Attracting Visitors Our marketing efforts put Kelowna and the Central Okanagan, and its brand, directly in front of more consumers for their consideration. In 2019, our team’s work included: • Introducing our Winter Ski, Stay, & Play program which helped lift winter hotel occupancy by 4% and increase room revenues by close to 5%. • Partnering with the Kelowna International Airport and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association to execute a targeted campaign in the Seattle market; resulted in more than 7.9 million advertising impressions and nearly 20,000 sessions on our website.

• Welcoming Brooke Lynn Hytes, Season 11 runner-up from RuPaul’s Drag Race, to Kelowna as part of a three-city Canada tour organized in partnership with Destination Canada, further targeting the high-value LGBT2Q+ market. • Partnering with local resident and celebrity influencer, Jillian Harris, Wines of British Columbia, and several other stakeholders for Jillian’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaway, which resulted in almost 320,000 contest entries and saw thousands of people start to follow us across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

• Hosting 53 travel media (-9%) and generating more than 93 million advertising impressions (-18%) and just over $905,000 (+75%) in value-added media. • Transitioning to a mobile-first website design, making it an even better tool to promote Kelowna and our stakeholders. The website received international recognition with an Honorable Mention at the 2019 dotCOMM Awards in the category of Travel Website.

8 | 2019 Report to the Community

34%

27%

26%

Over 207,000 social media followers

Over 2.4 million website page views

Over 1 million unique website sessions

Hosting Meetings and Conferences Our team’s business development efforts support our four-season visitation strategy, with the goal of increasing meetings and conferences business in soft-season months. In 2019, these efforts included:

$26 MILLION MEETINGS & CONFERENCES ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT VALUE

$2.4 MILLION

• Developing and supporting an economic sector strategy, which aligns with Destination Canada’s Business Events team, to attract meetings and conferences by promoting Kelowna’s economic strengths.

Securing Major Events

• Signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission (COEDC) to work as partners in the promotion of our destination, as it aligns with the economic sector strategy.

In year two of our major events strategy, our team continued its partnership with the City of Kelowna and community partners to present a unified and comprehensive destination option for events, with the goal of increasing our off-season economic impact. Our work in 2019 included:

• Partnering with COEDC and Accelerate Okanagan to leverage our corporate ambassadors, who promote Kelowna as a destination for meetings and conferences.

• Welcoming 2019 Skate Canada International, which generated $4.5 million of economic output directly in the Kelowna area.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF 2019 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL

• Welcoming the 2019 International Indigenous Tourism Conference, which had its highest atten- dance ever in Kelowna with over 700 delegates.

• Preparing to host the 2020 World Mixed Doubles & Senior Curling Championships and 2020 Memorial Cup presented by KIA. Both events were unfortu- nately cancelled due to COVID-19.

• Confirming Tourism Kelowna’s sponsorship of the 2020 Global Sustainable Tourism Council Global Conference.

• Acting as a key partner in the bid to secure the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier™, which will generate an estimated $8 million in economic activity.

• Obtaining 183 leads (+53%) and 54,365 lead room nights (+104%).

• Obtaining 18 leads (-25%) and 10,996 lead room nights (-19%).

In 2019, Kelowna was nationally recognized by the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance and Sportcal as the top mid-size city in Canada for sport hosting. “Kelowna has established itself as a leading destination for hosting major events. With sport and event tourism as a key driver for travel to Kelowna, it contributes significantly to the local economy through tourism’s $1.25 billion in annual economic output. But festivals and events have lasting impacts that go well beyond what can be measured in tourism dollars. Our community is stronger through the unique activities and events, the diverse cultures and identities, and the immense collective pride that comes with the shared experience of hosting events.” Mayor Colin Basran

“Hosting conferences in the off-season is highly impactful. Not only does it provide our clients with tremendous value, it generates hours for our associates and drives incremental revenue into our local businesses.” Shannon Bruckshaw | Director of Sales & Marketing DELTA HOTELS BY MARRIOTT GRAND OKANAGAN RESORT

2019 Report to the Community | 9

GROWING IN-DESTINATION SPENDING

Our team delivers exceptional customer service and influences visitors to stay longer, spend more, and return for future visits, thereby creating direct economic impact in our region.

Elevating the Visitor Experience With more than a full year of operation now under its belt, our accessible and inclusive Kelowna Visitor Centre (KVC) has become a valued community hub where both travellers and locals can discover the remarkable experiences available in our city. Our first annual residents’ survey reported 97% awareness of the KVC, with 23% of locals actively using, interacting with, or referring people there. In 2019, our team's work included: • Welcoming 322,513 people (+169%) to the KVC and having 69,513 visitor interactions (+53%). • Assisting 17,622 (-4.5%) visitors at our Airport Information Kiosk. • Producing the 2019 Central Okanagan Tourism Industry Showcase & Hiring Fair, which was the biggest event yet with 573 attendees. • Featuring more than 50 businesses, suppliers, and local artists and makers, including several Indigenous artists, in our expanded retail program, which saw increased sales in 2019 (+110%). • Offering opportunities for stakeholders and artists to activate the space and further showcase their products and services.

“It was incredible to have an organization like Tourism Kelowna champion my artwork, and it was a great opportunity to expand my product offerings. I was able to reach a new audience while increasing my profile in the community, which is so valuable as a local artist.”

Cynthia Gunsinger | Featured Artist

10 | 2019 Report to the Community

416

Providing Value Through our Programs

Active NAP Holders

The stakeholder marketing programs we offer are vital to our success and are integral to growing in-destination spending, since they allow us to further showcase our destination's offerings to visitors. Having fully-subscribed programs demonstrates our stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; confidence in the work we do and speaks to the value our programs provide. In 2019, with feedback from stakeholders, we revamped our Necessities Advertising Package (NAP) into two programs, the Base Advertising Program and the Enhanced Advertising Program. These programs launched January 1, 2020, to provide additional value to our stakeholders.

138 Airport Racking Participants

41 Local Flavours Program Partners

35 Winter Program Partners

2019 Programs

32 Meetings & Conferences Partners

32 Visitor Centre Digital Display Partners

26 Wine Trails Program Partners

12 Golf Program Partners

2019 Report to the Community | 11

STRENGTHENING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF THE DESTINATION As a Biosphere Committed Entity in the region’s Biosphere Commitment Program, we are dedicated to ensuring Kelowna is recognized as a responsible destination by visitors and residents. Surveys conducted in 2019 found that responsible tourism is a priority for 86% of Kelowna residents and for 96% of Tourism Kelowna stakeholders. These results speak to the necessity of our team's work in actively adopting, supporting, and promoting sustainable tourism practices.

This year, our work included: • Collaborating with Destination Think! to complete the first phase in the development of a tourism destination plan. Key deliverables included focus groups with Tourism Kelowna staff as well as inter- views with industry and community stakeholders. • Completing our first annual resident engagement survey, which included follow-up work conducted on our behalf by UBC Okanagan's Faculty of Manage- ment Capstone students. • Hosting four complimentary stakeholder "Plug-in Sessions" that provided information on short-term rentals, tourism research, sustainable tourism, and destination development. • Encouraging voting stakeholders to participate in the Biosphere Commitment Program by covering the second-year costs of the three-year commitment.

29 STAKEHOLDERS WERE PARTICIPATING IN THE BIOSPHERE COMMITMENT PROGRAM BY THE END OF 2019

Our Sustainability Pledge We act every day to foster the preservation and continual restoration of our land, resources, and communities.

12 | 2019 Report to the Community

Our Kelowna Visitor Centre achieved Gold Certification with Sustainable Tourism 2030, supporting the region’s growing international reputation as a sustainable destination. Initiatives that took place this year included: • Introducing more sustainable products into our retail program, like our ‘Love for Kelowna’ reusable bottle that encourages use of the on-site water filling station, which has saved more than 8,000 disposable plastic bottles. • Having 20 rooftop solar panels installed, which provide approximately 10% of the building’s energy needs, and transitioning our Kelowna Explorer Vehicle to a hybrid. • Installing educational information panels so travellers and locals can learn about local Indigenous culture and adding a locally recorded version of the “Okanagan Song,” sung in nsyilxcən (the language of the syilx/ Okanagan people), to the interactive speaker. • Improving accessibility features, such as adding a height-adjustable service pod, to assist visitors with different abilities.

“We chose to have the First Canadian Summit on Climate Action in Food Systems in Kelowna because of its connection with consumers and farmers and because it's a leading regenerative agricultural hub. We felt supported by Tourism Kelowna to put on this first-time event and packed the house with 120 participants, including 50 students from Okanagan schools, who care about stewarding the earth.” Tamara McLellan | Marketing & Events

SUSTAINABLE GRAIN 2019 Report to the Community | 13

OPERATING WITH ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE Working in a sustainable manner to strengthen the local economy and enrich the quality of life for Central Okanagan residents is an integral part of our mission. This means operating as a well-managed, leading edge organization contributing in the success of our local economy. Tourism Kelowna received the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) Professional Excellence Award at the 2019 BC Tourism Industry Awards, recognizing our team’s continuing work to elevate the visitor economy in Kelowna and area.

Our annual stakeholder survey, which had its highestever response rate in 2019, further recognized Tourism Kelowna’s work: • Overall satisfaction with Tourism Kelowna increased from 68% in 2018 to 87% in 2019. • Satisfaction levels improved significantly for all six of Tourism Kelowna’s service areas. • Stakeholder awareness of the Municipal and Regional District Tax (75%) and satisfaction with its usage (65%) also increased over previous years. In our residents’ survey, 95% of respondents agreed that tourism is in important industry in Kelowna while 79% recognized the value of the work Tourism Kelowna does. In separate surveys, 92% of staff and 92% of volunteers said they would recommend working or volunteering at Tourism Kelowna. Our certification in Destinations International’s Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) acknowledges our commitment to quality and performance. Financially, we continue to diversify self-earned revenue sources for long-term sustainability. For example, retail and advertising sales contribute 22% of revenue. What is your favourite part of volunteering with Tourism Kelowna? “Pure and simple. Being able to help people from all over the world know as much as they can about our city, area, province, and country. It is very satisfying to be able to do this.” Volunteer Survey Response

14 | 2019 Report to the Community

â&#x20AC;&#x153;On behalf of the Kelowna Hotel Motel Association, we would like to thank Tourism Kelowna for their efforts in 2019 at positioning and branding our city to be an internationally recognized destination of choice. Their team has not only engaged our membership with promotional opportunities to grow seasonal visitation to our region but has challenged and supported all members of our group to utilize sustainable business practices. Our group of hotel leaders is looking forward to future collaborative partnerships and the further strengthening of this relationship.â&#x20AC;? Dale Sivucha | President KELOWNA HOTEL MOTEL ASSOCIATION 2019 Report to the Community | 15

ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE The administration and finance team manages Tourism Kelowna’s stewardship of the funding we receive from industry and government and, increasingly, from our own self-earned revenue programs. The team’s work supports our daily operations but also plays a vital role in supporting the Board of Director’s mandate and long-term tourism vision for the destination.

Tourism Kelowna Operating Statement*

Municipal & Provincial Funds

Retail/Other

Visitor Experience

10%

Partner Advertising

Administration

Wages & Benefits

16%

23%

Work this year included: • Leading a successful transition of Tourism Kelowna's fiscal year-end change from August 31 to December 31.* • Maintaining the DMO’s history of delivering a clean annual audit of all financial statements, risk management, and balance and controls. • Managing revenue analysis and reporting obligations associated with our Municipal and Regional District Tax funding. • Providing counsel, communications, and support for the Board’s governance, finance, and nominations committees.

Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) and Destination Marketing Fees

Meetings, Conferences, & Events

Leisure Marketing

13%

45%

70%

Total Revenue $6,787,125

Total Expenses $6,453,458

*Represents a 16-month fiscal year, running from September 2018 to December 2019, due to the change in our year-end. All other data related to Tourism Kelowna's work in 2019 is for the 2019 calendar year (January-December).

Tourism Kelowna thanks the following funding organizations and partners: • Government of British Columbia • City of Kelowna • City of West Kelowna • District of Lake Country • Westbank First Nation

16 | 2019 Report to the Community

• Destination Canada • Destination British Columbia • Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association • Kelowna International Airport

2019 was a benchmark year for tourism in Kelowna and

scenario—visitors have remarkable experiences, residents

yet the effect of major global disrupters in early 2020

are enthusiastic about welcoming visitors, and stake-

emphasizes the work ahead to grow Kelowna’s reputation

holders are confident about the sustainable future of

as a four-season destination of choice, to seasonally

tourism in Kelowna.

disperse visitors, to support diversification of our tourism offerings, and to strengthen our local economy. Now more than ever we are mindful that changing

THE ROAD AHEAD

In recognition that tourism is a vehicle for experiential education, our Sustainability Framework will expand to include responsible tourism education for visitors

market conditions, weather, global public health issues,

and residents. Together with regional partners, we will

and other disruptors can unexpectedly impact our destina-

continue our work with stakeholders in developing a

tion's growth. These issues affect how visitors are choosing

critical mass of Biosphere Committed tourism businesses

to travel, underpinning the necessity of destination

to strengthen Kelowna’s national brand as a certified

development, responsible tourism, and sustainability. Our

sustainable tourism destination. We will also continue

collaborative work will support resiliency and recovery

to identify and promote inclusive and accessible experi-

while prioritizing the destination experience and driving

ences, which is a key priority for tourism destinations in

sustainable growth in the Central Okanagan.

BC and across the country.

Part of this growth involves the development of a tourism

We are, at the core, a marketing organization. We

destination plan to establish a unified tourism vision,

remain committed to using our expertise and entrusted

aligned with the city’s Imagine Kelowna vision and

resources to target the right markets and to attract the

co-created with industry stakeholders and residents.

right type of visitors. We will strike the necessary balance

Through the first phase of plan development, it was

between the business of advertising and the moral

apparent that tourism growth in Kelowna means more

imperative of responsible destination development.

than simply increasing the number of visitors; it means

We will continue to collaborate with local community,

developing our visitor economy in a way that preserves,

our valued stakeholders, Board of Directors, and indus-

respects, and benefits the destination as well as its residents.

try colleagues to increase tourism’s economic impact in

The next phase of local engagement for the plan will

Kelowna and surrounding communities. We welcome

take place in 2021. Surveys and community workshops

your input on the road ahead and look forward to working

will help us gain a new understanding of the local

alongside you to establish Kelowna as the shining beacon of welcome to the Central Okanagan.

perspectives about tourism that help define Kelowna’s identity. The goal of the plan is to establish a win-win-win

#exploreKelowna

Photography: Big White Ski Resort, David Mcllvride, David Vassiliev, Jillian Harris, KelownaNOW, Michelle Roydell, Nic Collar Film, Scott Bakken Productions, Sean Donovan/Okanagan Mountain Helicopters, Seekers Media/Nancy Shields, Shawn Talbot Photography, Shoot the Breeze, Simon Sees

202 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1635 Abbott Street, Kelowna, BC V1Y 1A9 250-861-1515 | tourismkelowna.com

Printed in BC on partially-recycled, post-consumer materials.