In 2024, Tourism Kelowna's Marketing and Communications team continued to promote and amplify our region's reputation as a sustainable, four-season outdoor playground through its work. Further defining and differentiating Kelowna and the Okanagan from other destinations was at the forefront, with a refresh of Tourism Kelowna's brand and visual identity program kicking off in 2024. We look forward to previewing this work early in the new year and rolling out the refreshed brand in mid-2025.
The summary below highlights the year's key initiatives, achievements, and measurable successes that defined our team's marketing and communications efforts.
Paid Advertising
Tourism Kelowna ran marketing tactics throughout the year, with additional paid advertising efforts running through most of the year. We also collaborated with industry partners—including the District of Lake Country, Visit Westside, Wine Growers British Columbia, the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, and others—on targeted campaigns as part of this work.
We launched a strong spring campaign, added paid marketing tactics to help generate additional awareness and demand in summer, rolled out a strong fall campaign, and ended the year with a paid advertising push to promote travel to Kelowna in winter.
Our advertising tactics used several mediums, including video ads, ads on connected TV (streaming) platforms, paid social media, paid digital ads, and content partnerships. Our ads were placed in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta and found consumers who were considering or planning travel and had interests aligned with what our destination had to offer.
Digital Marketing
One of the most exciting achievements for digital marketing in 2024 was Tourism Kelowna receiving a Silver Dolphin award at the 2024 Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards in the ‘Tourism Films Destinations – Cities’ category. The winning video, “Explore More of Kelowna in All Seasons,” focuses on people experiencing the city year-round and showcases a wide range of tourism experiences in and around Kelowna, which sits on the unceded ancestral territory of the Okanagan / syilx people, who are the original stewards of the land.
Tourism Kelowna's website received an upgrade using artificial intelligence. Travellers and locals can now communicate with our Chatbot, KAITI (Kelowna Artificial Intelligence Tourism Information), which can help answer general tourism-related questions about the region. KAITI has been trained using all the information available on tourismkelowna.com and additional information provided by our team members, furthering its intelligence.
The website has also seen incredible YOY increases in on-site engagement this year:
- Engaged Sessions increased by 47%
- Engagement Rate increased by 70%
- The number of Pageviews by Active Users increased by 79%
- Pageviews increased by 60%, increasing pageviews on tourismkelowna.com to nearly 5 million for 2024.
Social Media & Content
This year, we celebrated a significant milestone on social media, as Tourism Kelowna's Instagram page surpassed 90,000 followers. This achievement reflects the growing interest in Kelowna’s unique offerings and the power of authentic storytelling through content.
Initially launched in 2022, the #exploreKelowna Creator Program returned this year, engaging five talented local creators who shared their distinctive perspectives on Kelowna’s hidden gems and iconic experiences. This program produced 11 unique pieces of content, spotlighting over 35 local businesses.
In an exciting expansion, we are sending these creators to capture the essence of our key marketing programs: Wine, Local Flavours, and Arts & Culture. By the end of 2024, eight engaging Reels showcasing the programs' unique experiences will have been created.
Our #exploreKelowna Blog grew significantly, featuring stories mentioning over 300 Tourism Kelowna members and partners. With the help of local writers and our dedicated team, we crafted captivating content covering everything from wine and outdoor adventures to foodie experiences, curated itineraries, and more.
We also connected with our community through two exciting social media contests:
- The Local Savings Pass Contest awarded five winners with $250 gift cards to local businesses featured in the #exploreKelowna Local Savings Pass, driving engagement and support for local businesses.
- Our 12 Days of Giving Contest saw significant participation, with over 5,000 entries. This contest not only celebrated Kelowna’s tourism industry but also inspired locals and visitors to explore and support our community's outstanding businesses.
Marketing Programs & Partnerships
2024 saw exciting campaigns and a lot of collaboration with tourism businesses, sector organizations, and other destinations through programs and partnerships.
The Wineries Program launched in April, Local Flavours and Craft Sips launched in May, and a new Arts & Culture Program was launched in June. All three programs include collaborative advertising for their sectors and value-added tactics through Tourism Kelowna channels like the #exploreKelowna blog, social media, and newsletters.
We also participated in seven Destination BC Coop Marketing programs, leading two of them; find out more about these programs here.
Last but certainly not least, engaging and spreading the word about the fantastic tourism experiences in our community to a local audience also happened with Love for Kelowna Day at the end of May and support of the 12 Days of Giving Contest in December.
Travel Media
Spring Hawes and Tanelle Bolt visit SpearHead Winery
The Travel Media program saw nine media familiarization (FAMs) trips occur in 2024, with a mixture of individual and group visits and over 20 media hosted throughout the year. Primary focuses for the FAM tours included cycling, outdoor adventure, accessibility, wine and craft beverages, and culinary experiences.
More than 200 articles achieved a circulation of 99 million views across North America and the globe. Featured stories in highly circulated publications, including Cycling Canada, USA Today, Accessible Journeys Magazine, North West Travel and Life, Vancouver Sun and more, resulted directly from media visits.
This year, we collaborated with Destination BC, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, and various partners to bring out select media to experience Kelowna and its surrounding communities. We extend a special thank you to all the local businesses who supported these visits and left the media with a lasting positive impression of our destination.
Industry Communications
As of mid-December, our Industry News Centre e-newsletter subscribers increased by almost 60% year-over-year (YOY), while the Open Rate and Click-Through Rate (CTR) have also increased slightly YOY to 49% and just under 7%, respectively.
On LinkedIn, we communicate with Tourism Kelowna members, industry partners, and the community at large through our primary Tourism Kelowna page and its Meet in Kelowna Showcase page, highlighting our organization's work related to event attraction. Year to date, both pages are showing YOY increases across several metrics:
- Our LinkedIn followers have increased by 11% on the Tourism Kelowna page and 20% on the Meet in Kelowna showcase page.
- The total number of engagements on the Tourism Kelowna page is up 37%, while the Meet in Kelowna page is up 113%.
- Total impressions are up 7% on the Tourism Kelowna page and 47% on the Meet in Kelowna page.
Looking Ahead
There’s a lot to look forward to in 2025. We will kick off our annual paid destination advertising in spring, again focusing primarily on the domestic markets of Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. We also have many marketing programs, media visits, and social media and content marketing plans to run throughout the year to generate interest in traveling to Central Okanagan.
We will raise the profile of Kelowna as a host community for major events and travel through the 2025 Montana’s Brier and Canadian Country Music Week 2025. We will also refresh our brand and elevate our destination’s profile to people across Canada and to international markets through our tourism partners.
Learn More
To learn more about Tourism Kelowna's Marketing & Communication strategy, contact the team's Director, Chris Shauf, at chris.shauf@tourismkelowna.com.
