Kelowna tourism spending rose in 2025 but visitors stayed for shorter trips - BERITAJA

Tourism operators successful Kelowna, B.C., are entering the 2026 play pinch cautious optimism arsenic caller figures from Tourism Kelowna show visitant spending and activity accrued somewhat successful 2025, contempt immoderate businesses experiencing a slower season.

As he prepares his fleet for summer, the proprietor of SunWave Boat rentals says past twelvemonth fell short of expectations.

“We’re hoping for a very engaged season, particularly aft specified a slow 2025 year,” said Andre Plyusnin. “I deliberation we were about 40 per cent slower.”

According to Tourism Kelowna, while visitant spending maturation wasn’t evenly felt crossed each parts of the tourism industry, it says 2025 still turned retired to beryllium a beardown year.

In its yearly organization report, the statement said Kelowna welcomed the 2.2 cardinal tourer visits successful 2025,  a 5.2 per cent summation complete 2024.

Visitor spending besides roseate by 2 per cent to $1.2 billion.

One area that declined, however, was the mean magnitude of stay.

Tourism Kelowna reported the mean travel dropped 4.3 per cent to conscionable complete 2 and a half days.

Some successful the manufacture dream the numbers will summation arsenic much short-term rental options soon go disposable successful Kelowna.

“To date, the city’s business licensing section has received about 350 business licence applications for short word rental awesome operators,” said Nola Kilmartin, section caput of improvement readying astatine the City of Kelowna.

The provincial exemption connected definite short-term rental restrictions takes effect connected June 1st.

“The readiness of much accommodation options is benignant of perceived arsenic bully for each accommodations successful Kelowna and bully for tourism arsenic well,” said Kilmartin.

Major events successful 2026 including the Memorial Cup, a brace of CFL games and the B.C. Summer Games are expected to play a awesome domiciled successful this year’s tourism season.

In its 2025 report, Tourism Kelowna said awesome events including the Montana’s Brier and Canadian Country Music Week generated much than $40 cardinal successful economical activity for the region.

These types of events, according to tourism officials crossed the region, are considered important successful helping to style the occurrence of a season.

“We get to present ourselves to marque caller visitors who will beryllium pursuing a definite type of arena and not needfully person ever thought about coming to our region,” said Ellen Walker-Matthews, CEO of the Thompson-Okanagan Tourism Association.

“But they besides thief to soft complete revenues truthful that group could support their businesses operating, support going done what are often slower days.”

Walker-Matthews added tourism occurrence successful 1 organization does person ripple effects successful the full region.

“Visitors don’t parachute into a location and conscionable enactment there. If you deliberation of yourself erstwhile you travel, you spell to somewhere. It mightiness beryllium the anchor spot that you decided to sojourn but you’ll spell and return time trips. Sometimes you’ll return overnight trips and sometimes you’ll travel backmost to a spot and you’ll break the travel up into different locations,” Walker-Matthews said.

“So it really impacts everybody. So 1 location doing good intends everybody starts to do better.”