What message do tourists to the Okanagan get through floods and fires and smoke?

PENTICTON – The floods, fires and smoke that occur in the Okanagan Valley from time to time has an effect that goes far beyond the borders of our region.

Tourists planning a visit to the valley may cancel plans based on what they hear about natural disasters occurring in the province, when in fact those incidents have little to do with the areas they are visiting.

With that in mind, Travel Penticton is hosting a “Flood, Fire & Smoke Image & Informational Forum on April 23 to see what can be done to get a accurate messages out during times of emergency, while at the same time not distorting the tourist conditions in our communities in a negative or positive way.

Travel Penticton Project Coordinator Jo Charnock says a number of stakeholders are being invited to participate, including media.

“We want to hear from media and work together to find out what the issues and concerns are when these situations arise,” she says.

“We want to get a conversation going, to look at what we can do to retain our image as a tourist destination,” she adds.

Charnock said last year’s provincial state of emergency was an example of messaging that affected Okanagan tourism.

“B.C. declares a state of emergency, tourists get upset and cancel their plans, but B.C. is a big place, and there were a lot of areas unaffected by that state of emergency,” she says.

The message last year wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t always consistent, Charnock says.

“It’s how it’s perceived from outside our area,” she says.

One example: it was reported Highway 3A was closed, but tourists took that to mean Highway 3 — which affected business in Osoyoos when in fact, that road was open, Charnock says.

“It’s not our job to give direction to the media, we just want to make sure we’re prepared and proactive instead of reactive when these situations arise,” she says.

The forum includes tourism officials from Kelowna, Peachland, Summerland, Penticton, Oliver and Osoyoos.

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