As a leading destination management organization, our mission is to collaborate with tourism businesses in the Central Okanagan to create a tourism economy that is sustainable and welcoming for visitors and residents. Four strategic pillars—seasonality, destination management, internal excellence, and external engagement—guide our organization's work as we support and market the region. Below, you'll find an overview of our team's work during the fourth quarter of 2024, as it aligns with the four pillars. 


Seasonality: Establishing Kelowna and the Central Okanagan as a Four-Season Travel Destination

View from Knox Mountain in February

  • Completed a 14-week paid advertising campaign for fall which delivered nearly 28M impressions and earned over $30,000 in added value (bonus) advertising.
  • Carried out our always-on approach to travel media, social media, digital marketing, and content, helping our team achieve strong Q4 results, including 318K sessions and 1.1M pageviews on tourismkelowna.com and more than 70 travel media articles. 
  • Participated in IMEX America for the first time as part of Destination Canada's Business Events contingent. This included 26 pre-scheduled meetings with prospective buyers during the event. 
  • Hosted a Meeting & Conference Program client event in Vancouver, and a sports and major events client event in Ottawa. 
  • Collaborated with Kelowna International Airport (YLW), Nanaimo Airport (YCD), and other industry partners for The Perfect Pairing campaign in spring/summer 2024 to promote regional travel. At the end of November, it was announced that the campaign earned YCD and YLW the Best in Airport Partnerships Award by Airports Council International - North America.


Destination Management: Fostering Sustainable Growth of the Destination

Innovate Canada
Innovate Canada participants

  • Celebrated the OKGo marketing campaign—a partnership between the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, Accelerate Okanagan, and Tourism Kelowna—being honoured with an Economic Developers Association of Canada 2024 Marketing Award in the Community Collaboration category.  
  • Participated in Innovate Canada, a Destination Canada Signature Event, which focused on Canada’s robust agriculture sector. Alongside COEDC, our team shared some of the Central Okanagan's agriculture success stories, leveraging our local industry to attract international agri-business conferences.
  • Set up our mobile visitor centre at 50th Parallel Estate Winery to assist in the distribution of the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival TASTE Series passes. 
  • Provided community and visitor engagement services at several events through the fall and holiday season, including the YLW Fall Travel Show, the Tree of Hope Light Up, Downtown Kelowna Winter Street Market & Light Up, and Santa's Workshop in Lake Country. Our team also took part in the 5th Annual Parade with a Purpose.
  • Hosted a New Year's Eve activation at the Kelowna Visitor Centre, inviting guests to write down their goals or aspirations for 2025 on sticky notes for a window display, creating a collective and inspiring visual to mark the start of the new year. 


Internal Excellence: Ensuring Organizational Excellence 

2024 Business Excellence Awards - Excellence in Tourism
Excellence in Tourism award winners, Kelowna Concierge, at the 2024 Kelowna Chamber Business Excellence Awards with Tourism Kelowna Board Chair, Kelly Watt (left) and President & CEO, Lisanne Ballantyne (right)

  • Attended Destination BC’s annual Visitor Services Conference, where Sasha Taylor, Manager of Community & Visitor Engagement at the time, delivered a presentation on behalf of Tourism Kelowna. 
  • Completed our annual member and resident surveys, which provide essential feedback on what services and information provide the most value to our industry stakeholders and the local community. A recap of both surveys will be published in our Industry News Centre in the coming weeks.
  • Hosted a gathering of our Meeting & Conference Program partners to review results and discuss strategy for 2025. 
  • Sponsored the Excellence in Tourism Award at the Kelowna Chamber's 37th Annual Business Excellence Awards. 

 

External Engagement: Engaging Partners and External Stakeholders to Grow the Visitor Economy

I Speak Curling Event - Brier 2025
I Speak Curling event

    Hosted an "I Speak Curling" event, in partnership with the Kelowna Curling Club, to engage Tourism Kelowna members and get the local business community excited and prepared for the 2025 Montana's Brier.
  • Provided an update on Tourism Kelowna's destination development activities to those individuals who participated in prior focus groups and workshops. 


To learn more about our team's strategic priorities and key initiatives, contact: