News & Resources
The latest Thompson Okanagan tourism industry news from TOTA, tourism businesses, and communities.
Community Spotlight: Village of Valemount
Get to know the communities of the Thompson Okanagan region, such as the vibrant Village of Valemount, situated along the Yellowhead Highway just twenty minutes from Mount Robson. Tourism Valemount is a Biosphere Committed Destination and participates in sustainability initiatives such as releasing salmon into waterways.
The Community Spotlight will highlight communities in the region to help tourism professionals get to know the 90+ villages, towns, Indigenous nations, and cities of the Thompson Okanagan region.
Tourism Valemount shared some information on the destination and their sustainability initiatives:
Where is Valemount?
Surrounded by majestic mountains the vibrant Village of Valemount is tucked into the picturesque Robson Valley, situated along the Yellowhead Highway just twenty minutes from Mount Robson. Valemount is at the northern tip of the Thompson Okanagan region.
What are the main activities that attract visitors?
There are seemingly unlimited outdoor recreation and local cultural experience, with diverse trail networks, natural gems, and quiet serene locations where you can relax and enjoy scenic views, all year round.
Those who enjoy the adrenaline rush of white-water rafting, sledding, and downhill biking will find many reasons to keep coming back.
Prefer activities like hiking, paddling, and fishing? They have that too.
For those who enjoy browsing through museums, galleries, shopping in local markets and boutiques, meeting artisans, hearing musicians, and going to live theatrical performances Valemount has it all.
Take a stroll, or pedal along the Bigfoot Trail which loops through the community giving a great way to explore the village without a vehicle.
Learn more at the official DMO website, VisitValemount.ca.
What are the main events this summer?
Valemountain Days starting June 9 is an action-packed weekend with plenty of family activities, including a car show, parade, live music, and bouncy castles. Take in this three-day event to discover why Valemount is known to be such a friendly and welcoming community.
Bike Fest 2023 on June 17 will have shuttles, food, music, and epic trail riding.
The Valemount Farmers’ Market is on Thursdays from 4-7 PM, starting June 15
For the full events schedule, check out VisitValemount.ca.
What sustainability initiatives is Tourism Valemount involved with?
The Chinook salmon have been greatly impacted by the Big Bar Slide so Tourism Valemount partnered with the Simpcw Nation and Spruce City Wildlife Association to co-host the release of over 20,000 Chinook salmon fry into Swift Creek.
The Swift Creek Chinook salmon population is of particular importance because it is considered an at-risk or endangered population. Factors such as habitat degradation, overfishing, pollution, and climate change have contributed to declines in their numbers.
Protecting and restoring at-risk salmon populations like the Swift Creek Chinook salmon is crucial for maintaining the health and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems. Salmon play a significant ecological role as they bring nutrients from the ocean to freshwater systems, providing food for other organisms and contributing to the overall balance of the ecosystem.
Efforts are being made to protect and restore the Swift Creek Chinook salmon population. These efforts involve habitat restoration projects, such as improving water quality, restoring spawning grounds, and creating fish passages to enable their migration.
Valemount Business Features
SmallBusinessEveryday.ca is a Canada-wide initiative of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) to encourage support of local businesses during this difficult time. As part of the campaign, Tourism Valemount has produced a series of 12 short video profiles of Valemount businesses with videography from Valemount Community TV (VCTV).
Beginning Monday, August 10, the videos will roll out on VCTV on Channel 7 locally and Channel 653 across Canada on the Bell and Telus satellite networks. They will play on VCTV back to back at 8:00 am, 12:00 pm, 6:00 pm, and 10:00 pm. Four local business profile videos will be released each week for the next three weeks.
Watch the videos at VisitValemount.ca/gallery under ‘videos’.
Discover Valemount Website Launch
Discover Valemount (DV) is an adventure tourism TV series that takes you along for the ride on all the incredible things to see and do in Valemount, BC and the area!
Join DV’s Host and guide, Jennifer Robinson, as she experiences all the fun things that you’d like to do: hiking, horseback riding and pack trips, whitewater rafting and gentle float trips on the mighty Fraser River, heli-hiking and heli-touring, events, Valemount’s famous salmon run, jeep tours and ranch nights. And don’t forget the winter fun: Valemount’s renowned mountain snowmobiling, cross country skiing, and back-country ski touring. Jenn will even show you how to use Valemount as an affordable headquarters while you explore the amazing scenery of Jasper National Park, only 120 km (72 miles) away.
Discover Valemount is co-produced by Valemount Community TV and the Village of Valemount Tourism Marketing Committee.
The series airs daily on VCTV (Channel 7 locally and Channel 653 on the Bell & Telus satellite networks) at 10 am, 2 pm, and 7 pm. It can also be seen on the Valemount Community TV YouTube Channel.
What's a great adventure tourism TV series without an awesome website? Don't ask us, because we've got a brand spanking new one!
Valemount Community TV and Tourism Valemount are super excited to have launched the website for Discover Valemount. Keep up with all the current filming news, check out the latest and past episodes and photos, or drop us a line with questions and comments. It'll all there! And check out the killer domain name we snagged - discovervalemount.today. Not boring old .com, or ho-hum .ca, it's .today. Go to www.discovervalemount.today to learn more!
"See you next time!"
Jennifer Robinson
Host/Co-producer
Discover Valemount
Tourism Valemount
Michael Peters
Cinematographer/Co-producer
Discover Valemount
VCTV