I was talking to a local business recently about the upcoming Tourism Penticton annual general meeting. She stated she’d really like to attend but was concerned it would be a real “yawner.”
I was excited to share with her that our AGM will be far from that.
While you won’t see glitz and fancy presentations, you will see the tangibles — exactly what all tourism stakeholders have been waiting to hear.
What will Tourism Penticton do to impact our tourism economy? What will we do to increase the tourism revenue for a small motel, a local café, a prestigious winery, a new distillery? What will we do to get rooms filled and ensure that a three-day stay turns into a seven-day stay? How will we wow tourists when they visit our businesses, meet our amazing Pentictonites, explore our diverse landscape? How will we ensure more sports teams, corporations, and large scale events chose Penticton?
And most importantly, how will we do this together?
Every single tourism stakeholder, including accommodators, should be invested and should feel connected. The time of saying ‘it doesn’t impact me’ or ‘there’s too much fighting between organizations’ is over.
2015 will be marked as a turning point in our tourism industry. We will no longer state what one organization did versus another. Instead, we will give thanks to all including Penticton Chamber of Commerce, Penticton Hospitality Association, Penticton Indian Band, City of Penticton and Economic Development, Downtown Penticton Association, and every single tourism stakeholder who cared — who showed up, listened, brought ideas forward, asked the hard questions, and held all of us accountable.
The past is behind us and we are moving forward. While we have a journey ahead of us, I truly believe we are all finally facing the same direction. We look forward to seeing you Wednesday Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Penticton Ramada Hotel.
Diana Stirling
Chair, Tourism Penticton Society
Owner, LocoLanding Adventure Park