Talking tourism strategies

A forum hosted by Travel Penticton aimed to talk strategies for dealing with public perception of the South Okanagan during the upcoming flood and fire season.

"What we want to do is talk about what we had happening last year and how we might have to deal with it this year, and that's high water and the potential of smoke from wildfires," said Tom Tischik, executive director of Travel Penticton.

The event was attended by representatives from the city, including Mayor Andrew Jakubeit and Peter Weeber, chief administrative officer, as well as members of the tourism business community. 

Weeber, who has been working with the Emergency Operations Centre on flood mitigation this spring, said getting the word out about the positive aspects of the area is key. 

"We don't anticipate any major issues [in Penticton], but on the flip side we need to do what the mayor and council want us to do, and Tom [Tischik] wants us to do, and market what's available to us," Weeber said. 

Flooding has already been a concern in several areas in the South Okanagan, and with rising temperatures, snow melt could cause more problems which some worry could scare off tourists, following a tough season in 2017.

"We all know that the snow pack this year could present some challenges, being very very high, so what we want to do this year as compared to last year is be more proactive," Tischik said "We want to be able to work together proactively to make sure we have a good message out there."

Tischik also said that sometimes, as tourism promoters, they need to find the positive angles to promote when problems are taking place.

"Our job is to make sure that we're putting the best message out there for the area but also being truthful, just like the media does as well," Tischik said.