This past week, in partnership with Destination Canada, our team welcomed Brooke Lynn Hytes, Season 11 runner-up from RuPaul’s Drag Race, to experience the best Kelowna has to offer. As part of a cross-Canada shoot, Brooke Lynn travelled to Montreal, Toronto, and Kelowna to reconnect with her Canadian roots and to thank fans for their support.
Filming segments highlighting our active urban environment, exceptional wine offerings, and the local drag queen scene, the finished product will be distributed through Q Digital Network in the US on GayCities and Queerty from August to October. Dedicated email marketing, display ads, and a coordinated social media push through the Q Digital accounts and Brooke Lynn’s own accounts have the potential to reach an audience of over 1.5 million.
According to Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, CGLCC, Canada is globally ranked #1 as a must-visit travel destination for the community. In addition, LGBT2Q+ individuals are well travelled, with over 77% in the US and 86% in Canada holding valid passports. LGBT2Q+ individuals travel for longer and spend more when on vacation. With that knowledge, Tourism Kelowna is actively and proudly marketing to and welcoming LGBT2Q+ travellers to our beautiful city, year-round.
Additional work we’ve done to support and welcome the LGBT2Q+ community includes:
- Supporting and promoting Kelowna Pride, including Pride Week, through our owned channels.
- Creating and distributing a ‘Kelowna Has Pride’ video featuring local drag queen, Freida Whales.
- Showing our support by installing a rainbow 'Love for Kelowna' banner in the window of the Kelowna Visitor Centre during Pride month; members of our team also walked in the Pride march.
- Taking part in an LGBT+ Inclusion Training Workshop offered by the CGLCC.
- Updating and maintaining the Okanagan directory on GayCities.com.
- Creating a page on tourismkelowna.com with welcoming information that outlines some of the key activities in the area that align with the interests of the market.
- Partnering with local LGBT2Q+ champion, Dustyn Baulkham, to create content for travellers.
For more information on Tourism Kelowna’s LGBT2Q+ marketing initiatives, contact Director of Marketing & Communications, Chris Shauf, at chris.shauf@tourismkelowna.com.
