Despite COVID-19, more people took overnight trips to Kelowna in June and July than in the same months last year.
The total number of overnight visitor trips rose 35 percent in July, according to Tourism Kelowna.
“We had technically record-breaking visits,” said Lisanne Ballantyne, president of Tourism Kelowna.
However, hotel occupancy is still declining compared to 2019.
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“What we’re assuming, and we’re going to test this, is that many, many people are coming on vacation who choose to stay with friends and family who may be staying at a campsite or in a mobile home in their friends’ backyard” said Ballantyne.
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Traveler behavior is also changing: people are taking shorter trips and booking just a few days in advance, Ballantyne said.
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“This leads to some real changes in the cast, planning and trying to serve the guests to the best of their ability,” she added.
“I think people want to travel. There’s a pent-up demand for travel, and people are sitting on that family vacation budget, but not until they feel safe … actually do it to get away from home for a few days, ”Ballantyne said.
In a recent survey, the organization asked more than 700 residents how they would like to welcome tourists to the Okanagan.
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The results showed that two-thirds of locals are happy to welcome regional visitors to Kelowna.
While only one in five welcomes international travelers, the survey shows that this number drops to eight percent if the visitor is from the United States.
“America is obviously one of the hotspots at the moment, and they have a lot of problems with COVID, and of course that only applies to that. You shouldn’t be here,” said Natascha Sprenger.
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Since the end of June, 171 cases have been linked to the Kelowna COVID cluster, an increase in cases largely attributable to out-of-town visitors.
The survey found that the sudden increase in cases resulted in a lower level of comfort in greeting visitors.
“That really opened the eyes of a lot of people in Kelowna, I think, just because we had that spike,” said Lindsay Notte, local resident.
Hotel bookings and inquiries dropped immediately after the surge, Ballantyne said.
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“It only took a couple of weeks and then the inquiries came back,” Ballantyne said. “People wanted to come back and come back. I think that shows us that we have a resilient goal here.”
After hotel occupancy reached an all-time low of less than 12 percent in April, it recovered to 70 percent in July.
According to statistics from Tourism Kelowna, more than two-thirds of these visitors are from BC
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