Kelowna tourism industry ready for a bounce back year

The first fully-recovered tourism industry season since the end of the COVID pandemic is upon us and the message from Kelowna’s tourism industry is they’re ready. Also, it’s not purely about attracting the numbers but enticing the right kind of visitor.

CEO and President of Tourism Kelowna, Lisanne Ballantyne, said the coming season is not so much about what is new but all about opening back up again along with some returning crowd-pleasers.

“In the tourism world of course, we’re just trying to bring people to the destination, and I can tell you the destination is ready,” she explained. “We’re seeing things like the beer festival (in May) back this year, the wineries opening up again… and lake attractions have all come back.”

Ballantyne suggested the recovery rate of airports such as YLW (Kelowna International) is a tell-tale sign things are getting back to normal.

“It’s one of the fastest recovering airports in Canada; they’re almost back to two million passengers a year. That is so important to what we do here,” she said.

The industry sees a roughly 80/20 split of Canadian versus international tourists and marketing efforts this year will continue to focus on the BC and Alberta traveller, with Ballantyne noting Kelowna enjoys a 60 per cent return. But while there’s visitor loyalty there, she said there will also be a drive to entice Ontario tourists this year.

While the global health crisis has receded in the rear-view mirror, Ballantyne acknowledged the labour shortage is the biggest challenge facing the industry. But she said businesses have been working hard to fill vacancies.

“Some of the larger hotels for example have been very clever, they’ve been recruiting from out east. So, coming to Kelowna looks like a wonderful opportunity for staff because it looks like it’s less expensive here,” she said.

Ballantyne explained many smaller businesses have been going through a lot of the labour training programs offered by different levels of government, digital readiness programs, and there many HR resources being offered provincially.

Regardless of how many tourists show up in Kelowna this year, Ballantyne said what’s important for local residents is who is coming. Last week federal Minister of Tourism Randy Boissonnault told Kelowna10 visitors want Indigenous tourism, culinary tourism, getting out on the water and into the outdoors.

“We’re going to be attracting the right kind of visitor now,” Ballantyne said. “It’s not just about numbers anymore. It’s about those visitors here who are temporary residents … that are proud, respectful, and want to take care of this beautiful area we live in.”