Photo: Colin Dacre file photo
The long weekend gave our city a glimmer of hope as many streets, shops and parks were full of people supporting the economy and trying to soak up the summer atmosphere.
Downtown Kelowna Association executive director Mark Burley says Kelowna is busy but normal for this time of year.
“It was super crowded in the city center. This was reported to me by the on-call staff in the city center, and my activities in the city center showed that it was also quite busy. We had the one protest that went all the way to Harvey Avenue, but otherwise it seemed like a pretty normal weekend. “
With BC’s reopening plan announced on Tuesday, there is hope that shops and restaurants will see revenue spurt as restrictions are eased, and that makes Burley optimistic.
“I think everyone, no matter where you are, hopes things pull in, and we hope for a full return to the indoor restaurant that drives people downtown to pace our sidewalks to our retail stores . “
According to Tuesday’s reopening plan, additional restrictions on restaurants, bars and public gatherings could be lifted by mid-June.
The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce described the announcement as “good news.”
“This has definitely been one of the most anticipated press conferences since tightened restrictions were put in place a few months ago. We were all waiting to see if the improving numbers from circuit breaker restrictions and rapidly increasing vaccination numbers would allow some relaxation of the restrictions, ”said Dan Rogers, Executive Director of the Kelowna Chamber.
“Our local companies, from tourism service providers to restaurants, are excited about the little good news,” said Rogers. “We take Minister Kahlon as the minister in charge of BC’s economic recovery, with his word that he will engage with businesses on steps two and three to ensure businesses have a clear path to recovery.”
“We’re also excited to hear that by Canada Day we may see the reopening of casinos that are so important to our nonprofit groups, supported by community gaming grants, and planning larger group meetings.”
The chamber also says it can’t wait to reconnect with the business community with larger groups after many of their events were forced online.
