Photo: Contributed

According to B.C.'s leisure travellers two of the top 10 places to visit within our province are right here in the Okanagan.

Okanagan wineries and Okanagan Lake were listed among eight others as the “Best Places” in the province according to a new Insights West poll.

In the online survey, leisure travellers were provided with a list of 69 destinations, attractions and landmarks, and asked to select the “best places” in their province to visit.

The results were tallied and the top ten revealed; Stanley Park (39 per cent), Tofino (38 per cent), Granville Island (27 per cent), Butchart Gardens (26 per cent), the Rocky Mountains (also 26 per cent), the wineries in the Okanagan (25 per cent), English Bay and Spanish Banks (23 per cent), Haida Gwaii (22 per cent), Whistler Village (20 per cent) and Okanagan Lake (also 20 per cent).

According to Insights West, the poll also revealed some interesting differences by age group.

B.C.’s leisure travellers aged 18 to 34 were more likely to select Stanley Park as one of their best places (46 per cent) than those aged 35-to-54 (39 per cent) and those aged 55 and over (35 per cent). In fact, the preferred destination for B.C.’s leisure travellers aged 55 and over was Butchart Gardens (38 per cent). The youngest leisure travellers also expressed a fondness for English Bay (33 per cent) and Gastown (23 per cent).

“British Columbia’s leisure travellers have a hard time selecting a favourite destination from the many appealing attractions their province has to offer,” says Mario Canseco, vice president at Insights West. “Still, Stanley Park and Tofino were regarded by about two-in-five respondents as visits that cannot be missed.”

On average, B.C. leisure travellers have taken 4.7 trips in the past year, with men making more frequent trips than women (5.1 vs. 4.3, respectively).

In the next 12 months, British Columbia’s leisure travellers plan to make an average of 5.4 trips. Three-in-four (75 per cent) say they plan to take at least one leisure trip within B.C. in the next 12 months, while 44 per cent plan to travel to another Canadian province and 67 per cent are considering at least one trip to the United States, while 41 per cent plan to make a trip outside North America.