Photo: Contributed

The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association is joining forces with nine Community Futures British Columbia offices in an effort to boost tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The negative impact of the pandemic on the tourism industry has been unprecedented,” TOTA president and CEO Glenn Mandziuk said in a press release. “Building the industry back requires strong and collaborative partnerships that can provide foundational support and out-of-the-box thinking.”

TOTA and Community Futures will focus on tourism growth, development, sustainability and long-term resiliency. Business funding opportunities will also be examined.

“We are pleased to be working in collaboration with other regional Community Futures offices and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association to help move the Tourism Resiliency Program forward and assist our tourism industry in overcoming the challenges presented by the current COVID-19 crisis,” Central Interior First Nations Community Futures executive director George Caismar said.

The Community Futures partners taking part in the collaboration are: Boundary, Central Interior First Nations, Central Okanagan, Nicola Valley, North Okanagan, Okanagan/Similkameen, Shuswap, Sun Country and Thompson Country.