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Kelowna  

Tourism Kelowna promotes local patronage during Tourism Week

Show your love for Kelowna

It’s Tourism Week in Canada, and there are few sectors that drive the Okanagan more.

That’s why Tourism Kelowna this week is trying to make the best of a pandemic situation, encouraging locals to get out and explore attractions that normally those from around the world flock to see. This Saturday has been deemed Show Your Love for Kelowna Day, so locals are encouraged to support their favourite tourism-related business and share whatever they can on their social media channels.

“The added bonus of living in a community that shares its attractions with visitors is that residents get to enjoy those benefits throughout the year, which adds to our overall quality of life,” Tourism Kelowna president and CEO Lisanne Ballantyne said in a press release. “We all have a favourite restaurant, winery, golf course, or other local business, and their business is supported by residents and visitors.

“We’re very fortunate that the tourism industry is appreciated here in the Okanagan, as tourism and hospitality are very much a part of who we are and what makes this place special.”

Tourism Kelowna says the sector provides approximately 12,000 jobs in the Central Okanagan and visitors spend $337 million annually. The total annual economic impact is pegged at $1.25 billion.

“Tourism is a vital industry to our local, provincial, and national economies, and part of our everyday lives,” Ballantyne said. “Economic impact from tourism generates revenue for local businesses, creates jobs for residents, and generates tax revenue that is re-invested back into our community.

“Each local business in the Central Okanagan tourism industry has already demonstrated incredible resiliency after bouncing back from challenging years with high water levels and smoke from wildfires. Unfortunately, the impact of COVID-19 is very likely the biggest crisis many local tourism businesses have had to face, and the rebound will take time to restore.”

Tourism Kelowna is raising money for the British Columbia Hospitality Foundation, which helps tourism and hospitality workers, through its online store at loveforkelowna.com. Until Saturday, $4 from each purchase will go towards the foundation.



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