Updates, webinars, events, opportunities to get involved, resources, and research to support Thompson Okanagan tourism professionals.
Midnight Musings from the TOTA Team
Hi there,
This month, the TOTA team has taken time to spend time together in person and experience sustainable tourism practices in the region. Many TOTA team members continue to work from home, so it’s important to come together from time to time.
The wheelchair accessible patio space is covered by a solar panel pergola, which provides shade to the patio deck and clean, sustainable energy to power the Tourism Inspiration Centre and return power through the grid.
The Indigenous Artisans Trail (IArT) Venue is located beside the patio and is available complimentary to companies and entrepreneurs to reserve for events, pop-ups, and performances from August to October 2022.
With beautiful views of Okanagan Lake, the patio space is an excellent location for meetings, events, and to learn about experiencing the region from the Tourism Visitor Information Counsellors.
If you’re interested in using the space, please contact [email protected].
Invasive Plant Control Volunteer Day
Several TOTA team members volunteered with the Ogopogo Rotary Club to remove invasive burdock plants at Munson Pond in Kelowna.
Burdock is known for its clinging burrs that attach to passing animals, causing annoyance, pain, and even death for small birds and bats. Native to Europe and Asia, each individual plant can produce up to 16,000 seeds and spread quickly. Reducing development of the seeds is key to prevention.
The team received instruction from the Rotary club members trained to control invasive burdock by the Regional District of the Central Okanagan (RDCO). The process involved bagging seeds, cutting thorny stems, gathering twigs with old seeds, and slicing roots to limit spread. making it safer for visitors to the park as well as the ecosystem.
After some hard work, the TOTA team went to DunnEnzies - Mission to refuel on pizza and cool down in the shady outdoor patio space.
The volunteer outing was organized by TOTA’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Team as a way to give back to the local community through SDG 15: Life on Land. The SDG Team plans to host more “voluntourism” events for the TOTA team and as a networking opportunity for tourism professionals and partners.
If you have a voluntourism opportunity or want to get involved with future events, let us know at [email protected].
TOTA's Crisis Management Coordinator works with with Emergency Management BC to monitor events in the Thompson Okanagan region and support impacted communities, tourism businesses, Indigenous partners, and other parties.
Events that impact multiple communities for an extended period of time will be shared in this section of the newsletter.
For the full list of current advisories, orders, alerts, and rescinds in BC, visit EmergencyInfoBC.gov.bc.ca.
Weather Warning from Environment & Climate Change Canada Heat Warning in effect for: Okanagan Valley, Similkameen, Fraser Canyon, Nicola, South Thompson, and Shuswap.
The forecast for Tuesday, July 26 to Saturday, July 30, 2022 is for daytime high temperatures 35 to 40 degrees Celsius. Early morning low temperatures 18 to 20 degrees Celsius.
A strong ridge of high pressure will bring a heat wave to British Columbia this week. The peak daytime high temperatures are expected from Wednesday to Friday. Then, a slow cooling trend is likely next weekend to early August. The hottest time of the day will be late afternoon to early evening. The coolest time of the day will be near the sunrise. This will impact vulnerable populations including young children, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, and people working or exercising outdoors.
During hot and dry weather, tourism businesses are encouraged to monitor Environment and Climate Change Canada for updates and plan ahead with heat and wildfire preparedness resources, such as:
The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) will hold the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 29, 2022. Voting members are invited to put their name forward or nominate a qualified candidate to serve as a member of the TOTA Board of Directors for a two-year term.
Eighty-four First Nations and local governments, including 19 Thompson Okanagan communities, will receive provincial emergency-preparedness funding to help improve emergency operations centres (EOCs) and better equip them to respond to emergencies affecting the people in their communities.
Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland has become the first in Canada to join an international community of winemakers dedicated to reducing carbon emissions in the industry.
TOTA and GreenStep Solutions will be hosting an Energy Savings Webinar. This session will assist tourism operators in understanding what goes on in an energy audit that will help businesses reduce their energy bills and thereby reduce their overall carbon footprint.
The middle of summer may seem like a strange time to begin Holiday preparations, but the truth is, savvy business owners know now is the time to start planning for success. The days are counting down to some of the busiest and most demanding shopping days of the year – Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November, Holidays in December. Have you put your plans in place for success this winter?
In this two-part seminar package, Small Business BC’s Market Research expert, Mark Eversfield will teach you the important steps of gathering both secondary and primary market research. You will learn how ask the right questions, collect key data, and interpret that information to help you make strategic business decisions.
After receiving much interest in the first Preparing an "Indigenous Cultural Tourism Strategy" workshop, the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) is hosting this virtual workshop once again.
Learn how Indigenous businesses can develop Indigenous Cultural Tourism experiences and how any tourism business can incorporate Indigenous tourism into their offerings.
Glohaven Community Hub presents the premiere Indigenous Showcase event, featuring Indigenous films, artisans, food, and wine! Enrich your mind with Canadian made films and leave with unique products from Indigenous artists and artisans.
Host: Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA)
The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) is presenting a virtual walkthrough of the Biosphere Sustainable Lifestyle Platform for B.C. tourism companies and how it can help to track progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the BiosphereSustainable.com platform, a sustainability management system for tourism companies.
After two years, Freeride Days at Big White is back! Freeride Days brings together some of the best riders from around the world to the Okanagan to compete in a series of high-action mountain biking events. Get up close to the action and sign up to volunteer for marshalling/access control or course marshalling for the newest event - Dual Slalom.
The 2030 BC Olympic Team has entered the Engagement Phase of exploring the possibility of hosting the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in British Columbia.
Bringing the Olympic Games to BC in 2030 could have an enormous impact on the provincial accommodation and tourism industries. The organizing committee met with various councils, including the City of Vancouver.
You can engage with the BC 2030 Olympic bid in the following methods:
Send a letter or comment to the Vancouver City Council
Monte Creek Winery is running its 2nd annual campaign supporting endangered badgers. BC badgers, also known as Taxidea taxus jeffersonii, are only found in BC, and fewer than 350 of them are left. They are red-listed and ranked S2, or imperilled, by the BC Conservation Data Centre.
The leading cause of badger deaths in BC is highway mortality since they cross large land areas during their mating season in July and August.
B.C. non-profit societies, charities, and Indigenous-led organizations can apply for multi-year, flexible grants from the Vancouver Foundation. Grants from the Recovery and Resiliency Fund will provide stable funding for organizations to strengthen their operational capacity to help with recovery and longer-term resiliency.
This fund will provide:
$50,000-$72,000 flexible grant per year for 3 years to charities and non-profit societies in BC that provide community benefit and have operating budgets of less than $1 million;
Flexible grants for Indigenous-led organizations with annual revenues of more than $1 million. These organizations can apply through New Relationship Trust.
Hipcamp is the world’s largest marketplace and comprehensive resource for unique outdoor stays. Anyone with a property in nature can offer camping, glamping, and vacation rentals as a Hipcamp Host.
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