TOURISM OUTLOOK BRIGHT IN KELOWNA
BC Fires are over and the tourist industry is back in business. The Okanagan Mountain Fire has not affected long-term leisure or business travel.
KELOWNA, BC –The saying that ‘good things come from bad’ has never been more evident than in Kelowna, where the community continues to work together to recover from the Okanagan Mountain Fire.
“The support of the community has been absolutely incredible,” says Bonnie Bates Gibbs, CEO of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce. “From our emergency centre volunteers to the residents who have donated everything from clothing to accommodation, this crisis has reaffirmed our community’s amazing sense of spirit and love for our city.”
“Fortunately, almost every one of the 30,000 residents who have been evacuated over the past 12 days are expected to be back in their homes by the end of the day today, which is a huge relief,” says Gibbs.
From a tourism perspective, short-term bookings were greatly affected over the past two weeks, as leisure travellers stayed home, making way for thousands of evacuees who had temporary lodging requirements.
“Our occupancy has been about 50 percent tourists and 50 percent evacuees and firefighters,” says Paul van Drunen, General Manager of the Coast Capri Hotel. “For short term cancellations, we have not enforced a cancellation policy and we have not experienced many cancellations beyond early September.”
“While business has been far from usual over the past two weeks, we are now able to assure our clients that the fire is burning away from the city limits and that our area is safe forvisitors,” says Leasa Kennedy, Sales Director at Manteo Resort. “With the exception of one group booked in the first week in September, all of our leisure bookings and meeting and convention reservations remain intact. In fact, we have many calls from clients reconfirming their visits and their continued support for our community.”
“From the surveys we’re currently conducting, hotels were averaging about 30 to 40 rooms dedicated to evacuees,” says Stan Martindale, General Manager of the Ramada Lodge Hotel and President of the Kelowna Hotel/Motel Association. “We have had short-term cancellations and several inquires from event planners who have conferences booked into the fall, but we’re not experiencing any long term cancellations.”
On Sunday, August 24, 260 delegates arrived in Kelowna for Campion Marine Inc.’s annual four-day dealer conference at The Grand Okanagan Resort & Conference Centre. “We have dealers from 15 countries in attendance,” says Brock Elliott, General Manager of Campion Marine, Canada’s largest manufacturer of fibreglass boats, headquartered in Kelowna.
“People were very nervous before they arrived and we did have four cancellations due to some very scary front page headlines, but once they arrived, their fears were alleviated. At the same time, they could look up the mountainside, see the smoke and flames and they really feel for the residents who have lost their homes to the fire.
“At dinner on Monday night, we placed a fire bucket on the table and encouraged delegates to contribute to the fire relief fund. We promised that Campion would match the total donation. On Tuesday night, one of the delegates, whose family has also made Kelowna a winter vacation destination, placed $1,000.00 in the bucket, as he, like many other delegates, feel very attached to this community.”
From a business perspective, Elliott says this conference is one of Campion’s most successful to date. And, from a destination perspective “delegates can’t wait to come back next year,” he says. In fact, several delegates and their families are staying in Kelowna this week to enjoy their own vacation time.
On August 28, The International Northwest Aviation Council announced that its Annual Meeting would go ahead this week as scheduled at the Grand Okanagan Lakefront Resort. Sam Samaddar, Chairman of the local organizing committee and Assistant Airport General Manager at Kelowna International Airport says, “I am pleased that the Board of Directors of INAC decided to support our community by going ahead as scheduled.” The INAC conference will include delegates from the northwest United States and western Canada.
“The Okanagan Mountain Fire has definitely impacted our tourism business in peak season,” says Nancy Cameron, Manager of Tourism Kelowna. “What we want people to know is that tourist attractions are open, as is our international airport and all major roads and highways in and out of Kelowna. All of our fall golf packages, Wine Festival programming and other special events and festivals are going ahead as scheduled.”
At present, there are restrictions on backcountry travel stretching from Prince George in the north to the US border in the south – a total of 555 km. It is also in place from Vancouver Island to the Alberta border, a distance of 700 km.
Situated midway between Vancouver and Calgary, Kelowna is the gateway to British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley and is home to the southern interior’s only international airport. Kelowna enjoys convenient air connections including direct service from Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Abbotsford, Vancouver and Victoria; Horizon Air offers four daily direct flights from Seattle. By car, Kelowna is a four-hour drive from Vancouver; six hours from Seattle; and seven hours from Calgary. For more information about Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley call 1-800-663-4345, email info@tourismkelowna.org, or visit www.tourismkelowna.org
To access daily reports on the Okanagan Mountain Fire, please visit www.castanet.net
August 31, 2003
Posted in: Canada