Tourism Kelowna collects research data from numerous sources, which helps support and inform our team's work while also allowing us to identify trends and patterns in the local market. Key indicators, including visitation, hotel occupancy, airport passenger numbers, visitor spending, and more, are regularly posted and collected.
We've compiled some helpful information regarding data for some 2024 key indicators. When comparing 2024 to 2023, it is essential to note that wildfires started in the Central Okanagan on August 15, 2023, significantly impacting tourism well into September 2023.
Fast Facts for the Fourth Quarter of 2024
Hotels, Motels, & Resorts Q4 Insights
- Hotels, Motels, & Resorts in Kelowna and the Central Okanagan performed well in Q4, with monthly YOY increases for all metrics.
- New benchmarks were set in all months of Q4 for ADR and RevPar. December saw the highest YOY increase out of all months in 2024, aside from August, for RevPAR, with an 18.9% YOY increase.
- A new benchmark for Hotel Occupancy (41.4%) was set in December, which showed an increase of 7.8% over December 2023 (38.4%), the previous benchmark.
Hotels, Motels, & Resorts Year to Date
- Hotels performed well in 2024, exceeding benchmarks for ADR and RevPAR. For the first time since 2019, Average Hotel Occupancy for the year surpassed 60%, at 63.4% for 2024.
Kelowna International Airport Q4 Insights
- The Kelowna International Airport (YLW) performed well in Q4, with YOY increases for every month and setting new benchmarks in all months.
- For the first time, December exceeded 200,000 passengers, at 211,493 passengers for the month, a YOY increase of 12.9%. Aside from August, this was the highest YOY increase out of all months in 2024.
Kelowna International Airport Year to Date
- YLW performed well in 2024, setting a new annual benchmark by exceeding 2.1 million passengers for the first time.
Short-term Rentals Q4 Insights
- Short-term rentals in Kelowna and the Central Okanagan have seen a significant change YOY, most notably with the Total Number of Reservations and the Average Number of Properties, which were down every month of Q4.
- Average Occupancy for short-term rentals increased for Q4, notably due to the decrease in the Average Number of Properties. Average occupancy for Q4 2024 was 22% compared to 20.8% in Q4 2023, an increase of 5.9%.
- Many factors could be attributed to the drop in reservations, such as changes to the legislation, which decreased the number of properties, as well as ongoing inflation and economic conditions.
Short-term Rentals Year-to-Date
- Short-term rental legislation from the province and municipalities was enacted on May 1, 2024. On average, the number of short-term rental properties has decreased monthly in 2024 YOY, with more notable decreases starting in May. The impact has primarily been on the Total Number of Reservations. Average Occupancy for 2024 was 34.3%, an increase of 5.5% YOY.
Visitor Spending Q4 Insights
- In Q4, visitor spending saw monthly YOY increases, including setting new benchmarks for October and November.
- There was an 11.4% YOY increase in visitor spending in November 2024, the highest YOY increase out of all months in 2024, aside from August.
- Notably, the retail sector had the highest visitor spending in November, more than any month in 2024.
- Visitor spending in October and December saw slight YOY increases with 0.3% and 1% respectively.
Visitor Spending Year to Date
- Looking at 2024 results, we'll note a slight increase in visitor spending by 1.6%.
- Extreme temperatures which made for unfavourable weather conditions, along with extreme weather events, may have contributed to the -15.1% decrease YOY in January, -10.3% decrease in July, and 11.7% increase in August.
- Aside from August, November and June saw the largest YOY growth with 11.4% and 9.3% increases. The YOY increases could be largely attributed to the Recreation & Entertainment and Accommodation sectors which both saw high YOY increases in those months.
The data suggests that weather conditions may correlate with visitor spending levels, with negative impacts due to extreme weather events.
You can find additional research data here.
Visitation
Visitation data for the entirety of 2024 is not available at this time. Tourism Kelowna works with a data supplier for visitation data, and these are always the last numbers to be received, usually in early Q2, as they are complex and require more time to compile.
First Quarter of 2025 Outlook for Kelowna and Area
Barring any major event, change, or extreme weather, the first quarter of 2025 should see increased tourism levels. January 2024 saw a decrease in tourism, so January 2025 likely will see year-over-year growth. From February 28 to March 9, Kelowna is hosting the 2025 Montana's Brier, which is expected to increase tourism significantly in a slower time of year.
If you have questions about any data shared in this post, contact me at steve@tourismkelowna.com. If you have insights or perspectives from your business, please contact the appropriate team member; we would love to hear from you.
Additional resources:
- View data from Kelowna and the Central Okanagan via Tourism Kelowna's Industry Indicators Dashboard (must be a Tourism Kelowna Member with Partner Portal access to view)
- Explore data from communities across BC, including detailed monthly data from Kelowna, via Destination British Columbia’s Tourism Industry Dashboard.
- View BC Weekly Domestic Visitor Insights via Symphony Tourism Services Research Hub.
- Canadian Tourism Data Collective, a new centralized national platform for data, research, and insights.
Tourism Kelowna collects and analyzes data from various sources. The data presented in this article represents data Tourism Kelowna has received up to the end of Q4 2024, allowing us to promptly report on the data. Visitation data will be compiled and shared at a later date.
