Public information session held for proposed new visitor center

There was an open house on Wednesday for the proposed new visitor center in downtown Kelowna.

Tourism Kelowna applied to the City of Kelowna for rezoning on the small, city-owned parking lot at Queensway and Mill Street, right between Stuart and City Parks.

The parking lot is slated to close soon due to the new hotel project and the proposed visitor center in that area represents a shift in thinking from the traditional ‘side of the highway’ visitor centers we may be used to.

“The old way of thinking was that you put a visitor center on the highway and people come to you. That has changed. Most travelers today go straight to their destination and then start exploring,” says Tourism Kelowna Chair Daniel Bibby. “Rather than make people come to us, we are going to them and the Queensway site is ideal.”

Numbers collected by the City of Kelowna show that 440,000 people walk past that area every year, whether it be by foot, on bike, or pushing strollers, which should help Tourism Kelowna regain some of the numbers they’ve lost over the last few years.

“Our current highway location sees about 20,000 visitors per year and the number is dropping rapidly,” says Nancy Cameron, CEO of Tourism Kelowna. “It was over 50,000 just a few years ago.”

Cameron added that by moving to this new location they can expect to boost the number of visitors to the center by 100,000, just from foot traffic.

The proposed building is set well back from the water’s edge, allowing for a seated, community area for the public. Meanwhile, the other side of the property will be green space, separating the building from the path.

Tourism Kelowna is funding this project without any money from the city. They plan to raise or borrow $2,800,000 to cover construction costs.

The tent (pictured below) used for today's information session shows how tall the actual building will be if built. It would be a single floor, open concept building despite some of the artist renderings making it look like it might be two stories.