Our Business Development team is excited to announce that Tourism Kelowna's 2025 Meeting and Conference (M&C) Sales Program is officially open for participation. Launched in 2006, the M&C Sales Program generates meeting and conference opportunities for the destination. Interest and participation in the program have continued to increase over the past few years.
In 2019, we aligned the M&C Sales Program with Destination Canada's Economic Sector Strategy to focus our proactive business development efforts within our region's economic strengths. As part of this alignment, the award-winning OKGo marketing campaign was launched in 2020 as a partnership between the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, Accelerate Okanagan, and Tourism Kelowna. The success of this collaborative campaign continues to be realized—for instance, the campaign won two International Economic Development Council awards in 2021 and four awards at the 2022 Marketing Canada Awards—as we highlight our region's sector strengths to attract meetings and conferences.
OKGo campaign partners exhibiting at INNOVATEWest 2024.
Businesses must participate in Tourism Kelowna's Base or Enhanced Program to qualify for the M&C Sales Program. Once committed, M&C Program partners receive the following:
- A customized flat sheet for use at sales calls and functions.
- A website listing in the Meetings & Groups section of Tourism Kelowna's website.
- Customized Partner Portal coaching and asset review.
- Inclusion in Tourism Kelowna's #exploreKelowna blog.
- Invitation to educational workshops, presentations, and industry familiarization tours, and an annual networking event.
Program participants can also choose to take part in cost-shared tradeshows and events, including Tête-à-Tête, Canadian Meetings & Events Expo (CMEE), and sales events in target markets. Additional cost-shared events may be added throughout the year, and our team will communicate these opportunities to program partners as they become available.
CMEE 2024
As with the past couple of years, 2025 is predicted to be a busy year, with short lead turnarounds and steady business for the destination in the years to come.
Please contact me at julia@tourismkelowna.com or connect with any member of the Business Development team if you have any questions or wish to discuss the 2025 M&C Sales Program. Information on joining the program can also be found on our website.
