SUMMERLAND – Summerland is joining communities, cities and regions around British Columbia to recognize National Tourism Week – May 29 – June 4. This is well deserved recognition as BC’s visitor economy has been one of the province’s top performing business sectors over the past two years, generating $14.6 billion in revenue in 2014, expanding faster than the economy at large and outpacing traditional sectors such as agriculture and fishing.
The Okanagan is a very popular tourism destination in the province, generating approximately $1.7 billion/year according to the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association. Here in Summerland, Mayor Peter Waterman joined us at the beginning of Tourism Week to recognize the achievements of local tourism operators, employees, our destination marketing organization – Tourism Summerland, and other stakeholders by personally welcoming guests to the Summerland Visitor Centre.
Tourism in Summerland is managed by the Chamber and is closely tied to our business retention and expansion responsibilities. As the numbers above show, tourism is an economic juggernaut, both in our community and our region and while it often looks like ‘fun’, it’s far more than that. Events, beaches, wineries, cultural and agricultural attractions all serve as a funnel for economic activity, investment and resident attraction in our communities, and often capture a key demographic that is very important to us.
Between the Visitor Centre and our 80+ tourism sector businesses, we estimate that in 2015 more than 100,000 people visited Summerland and enjoyed authentic and memorable experiences. We didn’t have the opportunity to serve all these guests at the Visitor Centre, so this year we are expanding our scope and our presence to also offer visitor services 5 days/week in downtown Summerland. Our Chamber members as well as our tourism sector members welcome this new initiative.
While the BC tourism industry experienced both summer and winter seasons of record setting numbers last year, the trend is continuing as businesses and destinations across BC have already enjoyed a busy first quarter and are anticipating more record results this summer. We invite everyone to visit us in Summerland –‘ the locals pick for an authentic Okanagan experience’.
– Christine Petkau is Executive Director at the Summerland Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at cpetkau@summerlandchamber.com.