PENTICTON — Thousands of visitors flocked to the Okanagan for the May long weekend. People in the tourism industry say the Victoria Day holiday gives them a glimpse of the upcoming summer season, and this year, it looks promising.
“We hit our peak in 2008 and then we went down from there. Now we’re seeing the increase. Last year was an increase and this year is tracking to be stronger,” says Diana Stirling, Chair of the Penticton Tourism Society.
Stirling says many hotels and other accommodations were at or close to full capacity.
At the Bowmont Motel, there were no vacancies. Many of its guests were athletes in town for training.
Dan Tiessen, the motel’s owner, believes he’s benefiting from Penticton’s reputation as a triathlon capital.
“We ended up with a lot of triathletes and other athletes from other types of venues, along with people doing wine tasting and families,” Tiessen explains.
At Bench 1775, the tasting room was packed with people from the Lower Mainland and Alberta this weekend.
“It was busy. Saturday was awesome, we had a full patio, where all the tourists just come and visit,” says Nadia Berg, a tasting room associate.
Despite the economic downtown in Alberta, Stirling says people from that province continue to make Okanagan a destination.
The tourism industry is optimistic the summer season will be a strong one.
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