Penticton and Wine Country is being provincially recognized for its legacy in sport tourism.
Penticton and Wine Country Tourism was presented with the Sport Tourism Community Legacy Award at the B.C. Tourism Industry Conference in Victoria Tuesday evening.
“We couldn’t be happier with this recognition,” said tourism marketing manager Jessie Campbell, who was in Victoria to accept the award in front of communities and tourism organizations from throughout B.C.
The organization was selected for the award by the Tourism Industry Association of B.C. as a result of Penticton and Wine Country Tourism’s recent push toward sport tourism, including the development of an ambitious funding model for event tourism.
The award recognizes a British Columbia community that has illustrated the mutually beneficial partnerships between sport and tourism by demonstrated success in sport hosting and ability to offer examples of how their community is maximizing the various benefits and lasting legacies of sport tourism.
Gordon Ferguson, general manager of the Penticton Ramada and Coast Penticton Hotel, nominated Penticton and Wine Country Tourism for their efforts to move sport tourism forward in Penticton.
“This team has not only focused on diligently executing Penticton’s recently developed sport tourism plan, but has demonstrated innovation through the creation of a sustainable way for sport tourism to continue to be a focus in our community,” he said.
Penticton and Wine Country Tourism staff re-prioritized other key projects in order to place increased effort on a project called the Tourism Investment Partnership. The partnership, a sustainable funding model for event tourism in Penticton, is being cited as the main reason Penticton was named this year’s recipient.
“This award speaks volumes to the efforts of the tourism community as a whole, and to my team, who’ve worked tirelessly to ensure sport, meetings and convention and festival and event business is able to be a priority in Penticton,” said Campbell.