The North Okanagan is on a bit of a hot streak. And we’re not talking about the mild November weather.
Tourism statistics suggest Vernon and area is outpacing last year, a record one by the way, when it comes to hotel room stays and all the spinoff revenue, including taxes, that come our way as a result.
Now of course us residents know this is a desirable place to be any time of the year but visitors really packed the place in July and August.
July hotel tax revenue climbed an astronomical 75.2 per cent, partly because much of the B.C. Day long weekend was actually in the seventh month this year.
But then August numbers were also up by an impressive 21.5 per cent as well.
So these stellar summer numbers obviously translate into increased traffic (10 to 25 per cent) for restaurants and other tourism-related businesses and it’s a win-win for all concerned, including the tourists who hopefully enjoyed themselves and tell their friends and relatives all about it.
And it wasn’t even a good summer weatherwise, which may have helped some attractions as people spent less time on the beach.
Also the upsurge in hotel tax gets reinvested in multi-media advertising that includes destination marketing that encourages even more people to come and pay a visit to our beautiful corner of the world.
Now all we need is the snow to fall in the hills at the appropriate time and attract the skiers who will help make this record year even better.