Tourism expected to explode in Kelowna this summer

They are urban adventurers, food and wine lovers, outdoor families, golf enthusiasts, festival and beach goers and convention and tradeshow delegates.

They are the tourists who will visit Kelowna this summer and help push the total tourist count over two million for 2023.

"We're expecting an excellent summer and activity to be back to the kind of levels we had pre-COVID in 2019," said Tourism Kelowna CEO Lisanne Ballantyne.

"I'd say we're on pace to do more than two million tourists this year."

The wildcards could be smoke, wildfire, heat dome and an atmospheric river and flood washing out the Coquihalla Highway and cutting Kelowna off from Vancouver.

All of the above calamities have impacted tourism in the past three years as it has tried to recover from the ravages of the pandemic.

"Even so, Kelowna was in a bit of a bubble during the pandemic," said Ballantyne.

"We rely a lot on the domestic, drive-in market from the rest of BC and we got that in 2020, 2021 and 2022."

KelownaNow caught up with Ballantyne because we're on the precipice of the busiest tourism season and Tourism Kelowna has a new board of directors and chairperson.

That new chair is Kelly Watt, the Southern Interior director for Sandman Hotels covering Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, Revelstoke, Cranbrook and Castlegar.

"Of course, Kelowna summers are a big draw," said Watt.

"The lakes, beaches, wineries and ideal weather definitely give us a competitive edge. I think a lot of people who live in Kelowna are surprised that two million tourists come to the city every year and the overall economic impact of tourism is $2.1 billion annually."

That kind of wallop makes tourism one of the city's biggest economic engines, right up there with construction and real estate, high tech, retail-wholesale, agriculture-wine, aerospace and manufacturing.

So, even if you don't work in the tourism industry, your life is impacted by it.

First off, you'll notice it's busier on the roads, on the lake, at the beach and in restaurants.

But, the money tourists spend and the tax contribution of tourism businesses contributes to Kelowna's quality of life and standard of living.

After all, it takes cash to build parks and beaches, keep the lake clean and maintain roads.

And businesses set up and infrastructure is put in place, not just to cater to tourists, but locals, and thus a plethora of shops and restaurants, wineries, recreational activities and services and good highway connections and busy airport.

Kelowna certainly has all the attributes of an international tourist destination -- ideal setting and weather, food and wine scene, spectacular lake, beaches and water sports, golf, skiing and all levels of hotels and resorts.

However, the vast majority of tourists who visit Kelowna drive here from elsewhere in BC.

Tourism Kelowna statistics show 95% of tourists are from Canada, of which 71% are from elsewhere in BC (and likely drove here), 19% are from Alberta (and also likely drove here), 5% from Ontario, 2% from each Saskatchewan and Quebec and 1% for other parts of Canada.

Of the 5% of overall tourists who come from other points in the world, 95% are from the US and 5% from other countries.

With the bulk of our visitors coming from BC and Alberta, there's a lot of last-minute tourists, which means people will decide on a Wednesday or Thursday to come here for the weekend or a week based on the weather forecast.

When it comes to why people come to Kelowna, the list of reasons is wide-ranging and doesn't necessarily add up to 100% because many people come for multiple reasons.

It includes 27% for sightseeing (one of those catch-all categories), 26% for wine touring, 25% for family vacations, 10% for beaches and water sports, 10% for outdoor activities, 7% for food and farm-to-table experiences, 5% for a specific festival or event, 4% for an agricultural experience, 4% for golf, 3% for other (sports or shopping) and 1% for a conference or business travel.

Tourism Kelowna's new 2023-24 board:

- chair: Kelly Watt, Sandman Hotels

- past-chair: Thom Killingsworth, Kelowna Yacht Club

- vice-chair: Edan Fay, The Royal Residences

- secretary: Delco McEvoy, Best Western

- treasurer: Natalie Corbett, Accent Inns and Hotel Zed

- Annika Betts, Sandhill Wines

- Audrey Surrao, RauDZ, The Okanagan Table, Micro and Sunny's restaurants

- Bobby Bissessar, The Cove Lakeside Resort

- Dale Sivucha, Coast Capri Hotel

- Jon De Bruyne, Kelowna Concierge

- Kimberly Hundertmark, Okanagan Wine Festivals

- Michael Ballingall, Big White Ski Resort

- Nataley Nagy, Kelowna Art Gallery

- Cedric Young, Kelowna Hotel Motel Association

- Charlie Hodge, City of Kelowna councillor

- Jenny Money, Westbank First Nation

- Sam Samaddar, Kelowna International Airport

- Tricia Brett, District of Lake Country