Tourism Kelowna

Our sold-out 2024 Tourism Industry Holiday Mixer was one for the books! ❄️ We were thrilled to welcome so many new and familiar faces to the event, which took place at Revelry Food+Music Hub in downtown Kelowna. Thank you to everyone who attended and the team at Revelry for hosting us—you all made it such a memorable evening! A big round of applause to Cheryl Van Den Bold for expertly organizing the mixer, along with several other team members who helped out at the event! We can't wait to do it all again next year! 🎄

More exciting news for our region—the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) has chosen Kelowna to host the 106th edition of the Memorial Cup in the spring of 2026! 🏒🎉 The Kelowna Rockets were one of five Western Hockey League (WHL) franchises to submit a formal written bid back in September, representing the largest number of CHL clubs vying to host a Memorial Cup since 2009. 'We are thrilled to hear that our destination has been chosen to host the 2026 Memorial Cup. The bidding process was extensive and involved dedicated work from the Kelowna Rockets, the City of Kelowna, and our team," says Tourism Kelowna President & CEO, Lisanne Ballantyne. "Securing the cup solidifies Kelowna's growth as a hub for major sporting events, and we look forward to the economic impact the Memorial Cup will have on our destination in 2026." To learn more, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/g-kRSeAP Kelowna Rockets Hockey Enterprises Ltd. | City of Kelowna | Prospera Place

The Downtown Kelowna Winter Street Market & Light Up takes place this upcoming Saturday, November 30, at Stuart Park and at the new Cannery Lane satellite location. 🎄 This free, festive outdoor celebration features artisan and market vendors, family-friendly activities, live entertainment, and photos with Santa. 🎅 Tourism Kelowna's Community & Visitor Engagement team will be taking part in the festivities, so be sure to stop by our Mobile Visitor Centre to say hello! ❄️ Visit our online events calendar for information on other holiday events happening in and around Kelowna in the coming weeks: https://lnkd.in/g75QAaT4 📸: Darren Hull Studios Inc. #exploreKelowna #KelownaCulture #DowntownKelowna Downtown Kelowna Association | City of Kelowna

Last week, in partnership with Tourism Kelowna and Accelerate Okanagan we hosted elected officials, community partners and economic development staff on an education familiarization tour. The tour provided a platform for elected officials and partners to connect with leaders from School District 23, the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus and Okanagan College. Participants gained insights into academic updates, strategic priorities, and celebrated the successes of community integration efforts that are fueling economic growth in the Central Okanagan. At UBC Okanagan we toured UBCO’s Visualization and Emerging Media Studio and participated in an immersive virtual field trip, an experiential learning tool that uses Canada’s highest-resolution, 3D, VR-ready video wall. We also received an update on new professional learning programs, research aimed at reducing the risk of wildfires and the suite of programs at UBCO designed to support student educational access, engagement, and success. Our final stop of the day was Okanagan College We toured the Kelowna campus and learned about the various skills training programs. We received an update on the new $61.3 million dollar Centre for Food, Wine, and Tourism, which will be under construction this winter and is expected to open in 2027, with a focus on addressing the labour shortage in tourism and hospitality-related industries. The education familiarization tour highlighted strategies and emphasized the crucial role these institutions play in education, acting as the backbone for fostering talent and supporting sustainable economic growth. Regional District Central Okanagan #centralokanagan #kelowna #community #education #ubco #okanagancollege #economicdevelopemntcommission #tourismkelowna #accelerateokanagan #rdco #regionaldistrict #familiarizationtours #economic #westkelowna #peachland #westbankfirstnation #lakecountry #economicdevelopement

Join us in congratulating Kelowna Concierge for taking home the Excellence in Tourism award at the recent Kelowna Chamber Business Excellence Awards! We were proud to have our Board Chair, Kelly Watt, and our President & CEO, Lisanne Ballantyne, on hand to present the Kelowna Concierge team with their well-deserved award. We congratulate all the Tourism Kelowna members and community partners who were finalists and those who took home awards, including Sncəwips Heritage Museum, who won the Excellence in Arts and Entertainment award, and KF Aerospace, who won the Large Business of the Year award. For the complete list of winners, visit the Kelowna Chamber website: https://lnkd.in/dX2fqRC

Another successful inspiration day in the books! 💫 Connecting in person is always rewarding for our team, and yesterday was no exception. We spent the day getting fired up with Linda Edgecombe, CSP and HoF, learning about the City of Kelowna's council priorities and future vision, and workshopping brand ideas with Partners & Hawes. We capped off the day with some holiday cheer at Pretty Not Bad's Winter Wonderbar.🎄 Thanks to our guest speakers and facilitators for the inspiring day and to the team at Pretty Not Bad for the fabulous welcome.

🎶 Canada's Biggest Night in Country Music is coming to Kelowna! 🎤 For the first time ever, the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards is making its way to the Okanagan. Don't miss this unforgettable evening, taking place September 13, 2025, at Prospera Place to celebrate the best of Canadian country music! 🎟️ Pre-sale tickets are available now – use promo code CCMAKN at the following link to secure your spot: https://bit.ly/3Og812z #exploreKelowna #CCMAAwards #CCMAs

Recently, Destination Canada launched a refreshed version of its Agribusiness guide, highlighting our country's centres of excellence, sector innovations, and economic strengths for business events.🌾 Thanks to Kelowna's precision agriculture, crop production, and food and beverage processing, we are proud to be among the agribusiness centres featured in the guide. 🍎 Through the collaborative, award-winning OKGo campaign, and in alignment with Destination Canada's economic sector strategy, our business development team proudly showcases the Central Okanagan's agriculture success stories to attract business events to our region. 🤝 Watch the video below to learn more Paynter's Fruit Market, one of our region's agricultural success stories, and visit ok-go.ca to explore others.🍐 Access the Agribusiness guide by visiting Destination Canada's website: https://lnkd.in/gbbxc8X8 Destination Canada Business Events | Événements d'affaires de Destination Canada | Meet in Kelowna | Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission | Accelerate Okanagan #meetinKelowna #meetinCanada #agribusiness #centresofexcellence

Did you know go2HR - the resource for people in tourism has created a hub of health and safety resources, tools, and training tailored specifically for BC's tourism and hospitality workers? This platform allows workers to access important information about workplace safety, understand their rights and responsibilities, and industry-specific health and safety training. Visit the go2HR website to explore the hub for yourself: https://lnkd.in/g8-4XyMf 📸: Lakeside Dining at Eldorado Resort. Image credit: Ken Hagen

Visit our Industry News Centre to find out more about some of the business events taking place over the next couple of weeks, including: 🤝 Business After Hours events hosted by Downtown Kelowna Association, Greater Westside Board of Trade | West Kelowna & Westbank, and Kelowna Chamber 🎄 Tourism Kelowna's Annual Industry Holiday Mixer 📆 Destination Canada's Annual Public Meeting Find all the details here: https://lnkd.in/gxwt7JJj