This past year brought media from all over Canada and North America to our destination during the shoulder seasons, where trips were planned around our 2024 focus areas, including Kelowna's food, wine and craft beverage culture, cycling, accessibility, and outdoor adventure.
Group and individual visits were spread out in the spring, fall, and winter, with many connections forged from attendance at the International Media Marketplace in January and the Travel Media Association of Canada marketplace in June. Attendance at these events allows us to continue representing Kelowna among the hundreds of promoted destinations and communicate to the media in person at one-on-one appointments.
International Media Marketplace 2024
Over the past year, Tourism Kelowna hosted 9 media familiarization tours (FAMs) and a total of 21 attendees, seeing over 200 media placements and a reach of 99 million due to working with media from larger publications. Features ranged from the Vancouver Sun, Canadian Cycling Magazine, North West Travel & Life, USA Today, and Accessible Journeys Magazine.
Articles and content from the year included:
- 7 Easy Adventures in Kelowna: Beyond the beaches and wineries by Lisa Kadane
- Unique things to do in Kelowna in Spring, Summer, & Fall by Leah McAdam
- Slow Travel through B.C.’s Okanagan Valley by Nancy Mueller
- Pedalling in the Okanagan by Christine Palassio
- Make some pour decisions: You should visit British Columbia on your next wine-tasting trip by Zach Wichter
- Tanelle’s Accessible Kelowna adventure: Wonder, wine and exploration by Tanelle Bolt
- Enjoy the Quiet Life during Okanagan’s Shoulder Season by Kim Pemberton
As we wrap up the year, we extend a special thank you to the Tourism Kelowna Members and local businesses in the area who continue to support our travel media program, working with us to showcase experiences through friendly hospitality, leaving a lasting positive impression of the destination. We also thank the industry partners we collaborated with in 2024 on media visits, including Destination BC, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, and Noelle Communications PR.
We begin 2025 with the travel media program full steam ahead as we host our first group in January, highlighting winter in Kelowna with a mixture of outdoor adventure and culinary experiences.
We will continue to pitch to publications throughout the year and welcome media in most seasons, with a new goal to increase evergreen content and guide-style videos on YouTube and Instagram as they become popular for travellers to research before their visit.
If you are interested in showcasing your business for a future itinerary, please contact me at shereen@tourismkelowna.com with your experience to be added for consideration when planning trips or responding to media requests.
