Midway through summer many in Kelowna’s business community are wondering, where are all the tourists?
The pathways, sidewalks and roads are not as bustling as they should be at this time of year.
“It’s been a little slow. Numbers are definitely down. Midweek is a little slower than usual," said Luke Weller, owner of Ogopogo Parasail, as he scouted for customers on a beautiful, sunny Tuesday afternoon.
"The weekends have been good but I’m standing on a shore when normally I’m on a boat 10 hours a day,”
Sharp drop in bookings
Some forecasts are indicating bookings in August are down as much as 50 per cent in parts of the Thompson-Okanagan. The acting CEO of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce says she’s been hearing from concerned businesses.
“We had an event last Thursday night and about 180 of our members were out and I had a lot of conversations.
“Most of them that are in the food and beverage industry that are in the downtown core are seeing a drop year-over-year, especially over last year. Not as many bums in the seats, not as many people walking the streets in the evening popping in, the walk ins,” notes Colleen Clark.
What's to blame?
So why are fewer people coming to Kelowna and other parts of the region? Weller and Clark say the recent changes in provincial and municipal rules around short-term rentals are a factor.
“I’ve heard a lot of opinions. I’ve heard Airbnbs, Kelowna being too expensive to come to now. And, you know, I kind of believe it,” says Weller. “When you heard that people are paying $350 a night to stay in a motel. I mean, I wouldn’t be coming here and spending $350 a night.”
Other factors are also at play, including concerns about wildfires, smoke and highway closures and belt tightening due to inflation and other economic factors.
Clark says wedding planners and some big events are avoiding summer because of the threat of wildfires. Instead they’re booking in the spring and fall shoulder seasons.
Doing business in uncertain times
Regardless of the cause of the summer slowdown, the tourism industry is looking for solutions.
“We have to find ways to roll with these waves we’re seeing every single year, whether it’s weather, whether it’s the economy, whether its a weather pattern or the economy that hits even in other parts of the country. We need to figure out how to do business in uncertain times,” says Lisanne Ballantyne, president and CEO of Tourism Kelowna.
She says the tourism sector is looking at resiliency funding, changing language around climate-driven disruptions and working with small operators to come up with business plans so they make it through these turbulent times.
Ballantyne points out that she’s seeing a shift in visitor behaviour. More people are making spur of the moment trips to the Central Okanagan instead of booking months in advance. Fingers are crossed that that will push up visitor numbers in August.
