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May 26, 2025 - 5:00 AM
Maybe you’re thinking about a trip to Kamloops or the Okanagan this summer, or maybe you live in the area and dread the flood of tourists clogging up the roads.
Tourism brings in a lot of money so here’s a look at the data on the economics and whether people feel like tourists are a good thing for their community.
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2.4 billion: Dollars come into Kelowna because of tourism.
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40: Per cent of people in the North Okanagan feel like there are too many tourists in the summer.
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90: Per cent of people surveyed by Tourism Kamloops think it’s an important industry for the area.
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85: Per cent of tourists in Penticton come from Canada, mostly B.C.
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19: Golf courses in Kelowna attract tourists. Could the city could use a few more?
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4,400: Hotel rooms in Kelowna.
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18: Per cent of people in Thompson-Okanagan are against creating more jobs in tourism.
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12,000: Jobs in Kelowna are based around tourism.
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80: Per cent of people value the money that tourism brings to the Thompson-Okanagan region.
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1,201: Chats were had with Kelowna Artificial Intelligence Tourism Information, KAITI, chatbot last year.
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