Today marks the kick-off of Tourism Week 2022, which is hosted annually by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and tourism associations across the country, including the Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC) and Destination BC (DBC), and offers communities across the country the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the value of tourism, including the economic impact and increased quality of life it creates.
This year's Tourism Week theme, Travel Now: For Work, Life, and Play!, celebrates the return of travel and tourism. Prior to the pandemic, Kelowna's $2 billion dollar visitor economy was a major economic driver, attracting 2 million visitors annually and generating 13,000 jobs, $204 million in tax revenue, and $443 million in direct spending at local businesses. In the months and years ahead, the tourism industry will play an important role in the economic recovery and growth of our region.
“Local residents and visitors from around the world all love the lifestyle and every-day-is-a-vacation feeling that Kelowna offers,” says Lisanne Ballantyne, President and CEO of Tourism Kelowna. “Tourism Week is our opportunity to join with destinations across the country to celebrate how the vitally important visitor economy contributes to economic growth and quality of life. The contributions of our local tourism industry—like job opportunities, tax revenue that supports infrastructure, and world-class events—continue to make Kelowna, Canada’s four-season playground, an attractive place to live, work, and play. We invite everyone to celebrate and learn more about the value of tourism during Tourism Week and beyond."
Our team will be hosting a Tourism Week Open House at the Kelowna Visitor Centre on Thursday, June 2—industry and community members are invited to drop by any time between 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. to chat with our team about the value of tourism, our local tourism industry, and the work Tourism Kelowna does to support our region.
TIAC is also challenging destinations, landmarks, attractions, venues and hotels to light up in green (colour hex code #8BC53F) during the week as part of their #GreenMeansGo campaign to raise awareness of the tourism industry’s economic, social, and cultural importance in Canada.
We encourage you to showcase your business’ contributions through your own channels throughout the as well. Here are a few ideas for you to consider:
- Highlight the work of a long-standing team member, welcome new faces, or give a shout-out to those who have made a difference over the past year.
- Share a quote or testimonial from a customer or supplier.
- Showcase uplifting stories or interesting tidbits about your business, to further connect with visitors and locals.
- Share photos on social media of your staff and volunteers travelling throughout the province and participating in Tourism Week activities.
- Take photos of other tourism activities in the region that you can share (attractions, tourism employees, visitor centre, welcome signage, etc.)
When sharing content on social media, be sure to tag Tourism Kelowna and include the following hashtags:
- #TourismWeekCanada2022
- #GreenMeansGo
- #BCTourismCounts
- #TourismKelowna
Additional information and resources for Tourism Week are available at the following links: