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Peach Visitor Centre now open, ready to let tourists know about the 'hidden gems' in our area

Jacob Winstone just may have the best job in the Okanagan.

Winstone is in his second year working for Travel Penticton.

His job? To look after the Peach Visitor Centre, which officially opened last Saturday inside the former Community Policing Centre at the north end of Winnipeg Street.

<who>Photo Credit: Dale Cory

“I love it. I’m a very social person so I like to talk to people and let them know what’s going on,” said Winstone during a break between tourist visits Friday afternoon. “I’m very proud of the city that we live in, and I like to tell people about the hidden gems we’ve got here. It’s just a fantastic place with the weather. I love to be doing all these things, so I want to tell other people to do it too.”

The Visitor Centre is part of a partnership between Travel Penticton, the City of Penticton, and the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce, which will move its office into the Lakeshore Drive location next week.

“We’ve got new signage out front so everyone kind of sees what’s going on, and we’ve been getting a good steady flow of people coming in,” said Winstone. “Every time someone comes in, I try to ask where they’re visiting from, and their reason for coming here.

“We’re getting a lot of people up from the Vancouver area, and we have had a few Alberta people, which is nice to see they’re coming out. Then I get some people from Kelowna and Vernon coming down to visit their Okanagan friends for a day or two.”

<who>Photo Credit: Dale Cory

And when tourists walk through the front door, Winstone has a plethora of information to pass over.

“We have our visitor guides, our experience guides, city maps, and we keep a lot of our boat and bike rental info here,” said Winstone. “All the wine tour info is here, along with info on the KVR Trail. I have a lot of info on campgrounds here. Those are kind of the heavy hitters that I keep around here.”

And the most-asked question when people come into the Visitor Centre?

<who>Photo Credit: Dale Cory

“All they want to know is wineries, wineries. People love knowing which place is open, their tasting times, and reservations - so I get lots of questions about the Naramata Bench,” responded Winstone. “People are always asking about the KVR Trail, where they can get bikes, where they can start, and where Little Tunnel is up at the top. People also ask about the Channel float, where they can start, and what Coyote Cruises will actually do for them.

“I let them know all that info.”

<who>Photo Credit: Dale Cory

A few paragraphs earlier, you’ll recall Winstone mentioned hidden gems.

So…

“I’d say Naramata Creek is kind of a hidden gem. There’s the park itself which has the nice walking trail, but if you just keep going a little further up, you can actually reach the waterfalls up there,” responded Winstone. “And not as many people know that the waterfalls are up there, and it’s not as well marked so people don’t really know to keep going up.

“If you’re comfortable doing the terrain up there, then it’s a great spot.”

For more information on Travel Penticton, and those many ‘hidden gems’ in this area, click here.



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