Tourism Kelowna once again completed its annual resident survey. In early November, an independent communication and research firm conducted and compiled the research, which included feedback from over 500 local residents. This is the fifth year Tourism Kelowna has collected this research. Overall, survey results align with past years and demonstrate a strong understanding of and support for the local tourism industry in our community. 

The results of the decided respondents include:

  • 92% agree that tourism is an important industry in Kelowna and the Central Okanagan. This is virtually the same as last year. 
  • 81% recognize the value of the work that Tourism Kelowna does and see its impact on residents. This is a slight increase over last year. 
  • 26% of those polled have used the services, or referred others to, the Kelowna Visitor Centre. This is a slight increase over last year. 
  • 66% believe that Kelowna is attracting the right type of visitors to our community. This is an increase over last year. 
  • 57% believe Kelowna is attracting the right volume of visitors. This is the first year this question has been asked. 
  • 50% indicate the local tourism industry helps increase their quality of life. This is a slight decrease over last year. 
  • 57% think local tourism experiences are offered at a fair value for the product or service received. This is a slight decrease over last year. 
  • 66% believe Kelowna has sufficient infrastructure and attractions to be a desirable tourism destination into the future. This is an increase over last year. 
  • 82% indicated that the local tourism industry provides good employment opportunities for residents. This is the same as last year. 
  • 77% believe money spent to attract tourism to Kelowna is a good investment. This is a slight increase over last year. 

Tourism Kelowna also asked questions specific to its efforts to help inform people about the wildfires affecting the Central Okanagan. Approximately 75% indicated they felt Tourism Kelowna provided an appropriate response during the challenging times, and 17% used the Tourism Kelowna website and social media channels for information and updates.

Some key issues on residents' minds concerning tourism include labour and staffing issues, cost issues, and responsible tourism. 

This information helps inform Tourism Kelowna's work and is an important indicator of the impact of our work. It also helps us as we continue to roll out work from our Tourism Destination Development Plan, which was released in late 2022. 

If you have any questions about the 2023 resident engagement survey, please contact me at chris.shauf@tourismkelowna.com.