Photo: Contributed - City of Penticton

Visitors to Penticton City Hall are now welcomed in multiple languages.

On Monday, council, city staff and representatives from South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services gathered for the unveiling of a new "welcome wall."

"New signs may seem like a small addition to the City Hall space, but they are symbolic and reinforce how welcoming Penticton is for visitors and newcomers alike," said Mayor Andrew Jakubeit. "We thank South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services for devoting time and energy to this project, and making City Hall a more inviting and friendly place to visit."

Recent statistics show that between 2001 and 2006, the South Okanagan Similkameen had approximately 460 new immigrants, representing 26 per cent of the net growth of the region.

The area currently receives approximately 100 immigrants per year, and based on general population growth projections, this number is anticipated to double.

Tahira Saeed, program manager for SOICS, said the group was excited to be included in renovations to City Hall.

"It is a central resource for our newcomer clients, and offering a friendly atmosphere is key to their feeling welcome," she said.

The feature wall in the front lobby highlights the word "welcome" in English and 15 different languages: Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Punjabi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese.

International symbols were also used to help customers identify what service they need and recognize what counter provides that service.