Canada/The Town of Oliver wants B.C. to help communities diversify tourism

The Town of Oliver would like the British Columbia government to invest with local governments to identify ways of diversifying tourism in communities affected by climate change.

It will be presenting a resolution at the Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA) convention, which starts on Tuesday in Kamloops.

The mayor of Oliver, Martin Johansen, explains that tourism is affected, especially during the summer months, with forest fires and smoke, and that in small rural communities, flagship events take place mainly during the summer period.

So the economic consequences are significant when these events are cancelled.

One thing might be to move your flagship event out of the months of July and August when many of them take place. Diversification could consist of smaller, more frequent events that occur throughout the year.

A quote from Martin Johansen, Mayor of Oliver

Martin Johansen explains that his town is looking into the possibility of having tourists land at the local airport for vineyard tours. He adds that the Roots and Fruits festival has been moved from August to June. This is a time of year when, as far as I can remember, we haven't been hit by a forest fire in June.

Martin Johansen is confident that the resolution will be passed and presented at the annual convention of the province's Union of Municipalities (UBCM), and that the province will intervene, as it supports tourism.

We have to adapt, and that's part of climate change [...] Traditionally, we held flagship events in the summer when kids are on vacation and families can travel. Now we have to think about doing things in a different way, because these are options that are quickly ruled out when something terrible like a forest fire happens and smoke is in the area.

A quote from Martin Johansen, Mayor of Oliver

Tourists waiting to book this summer

In Osoyoos, David McBean, general manager of Watermark Beach Resort, believes that organizing events outside the summer season should have been put in place even before the fires had an impact on the area. We do a lot of festivals in July and August, but that's when the hotels are already full.

Now we're making more of an effort to get groups here [in] April, May, June, September, October, November, because in those months there aren't as many tourists, but there are groups [who want to] come to the Okanagan [and know] there's a lot to do [and that] the wineries are still open.

A quote from David McBean, General Manager of Watermark Beach Resort

He recalls the fire that directly threatened Osoyoos and caused occupancy to drop from 90% to 65%. However, it was another threatening fire in West Kelowna that had a greater impact, as the province advised against travel to the area at the time. That changed the occupancy rate to 10%, 15%.

This year, the general manager is delighted that spring bookings are better than last year. Summer, on the other hand, isn't as busy as last year, but that's quite normal after a fiery year [because] people wait until the last minute to make a reservation.

Although the drought is still with us, David McBean explains that his hotel is nevertheless preparing as it does every year. We can't just say 'ah there's going to be fires so maybe we [won't] do anything'."

For his part, Martin Johansen is worried about the drought. It doesn't look good at the moment. We'll see what happens, but conditions are ripe for a repeat of last year.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/