Some Kelowna tourism operators blame short-term rental rules for decrease in tourists

It appears Kelowna, B.C.’s, tourism manufacture is being deed difficult this year.

Tourism operators are reporting a crisp diminution successful nan number of visitors to nan Central Okanagan city.

“Normally, we’d person floods of Albertans coming through. Now we’re down to possibly 1 a day. Also coming successful from Vancouver, we’ve seen immoderate large declines arsenic good pinch travel,” said Jane Sawin, who owns Priest Creek Family Estate Winery.

Sawin said nan winery is seeing astir half nan postulation it saw past summer.

“We’re seeing a large decline,” Sawin said.  “Last summer, we would spot upwards of 40 reservations connected a Saturday, now I’m sitting astatine astir 8 aliases nine.”

While location whitethorn beryllium a number of factors involved, including nan system and fearfulness of wildfires, immoderate powerfully judge it’s nan crackdown connected short-term rentals that’s to blame.

“We’re down successful our backstage bookings, which are nan bulk of group who do enactment successful nan short-term rental market, we’re down astir 70 per cent complete 2022 and 50 per cent down successful that peculiar conception from 2023,” said Marsha Morrish pinch Okanagan Wine Country Tours.

“It’s beautiful scary.”

Morrish said it is different to person galore openings for vino tours during nan highest tourism play erstwhile successful nan past, visitors had to book acold successful advance.

“You could book pinch america tomorrow, coming and it’s nan aforesaid pinch nan wineries — antecedently we had to book possibly 3 weeks successful beforehand to get nan clip slots we wanted, and now we could book tomorrow,” Morrish said.

“I mean, we talk to our winery partners. They are really quiet, they’ve laid disconnected people.”

In May, caller authorities went into effect banning short-term rentals unless they are successful nan homeowner’s superior residence–all successful an effort to easiness nan lodging crisis.

“We support immoderate limitations connected short-term rentals but to do a broad crossed nan committee without immoderate exemptions makes nary sense,” said B.C. United leader Kevin Falcon, who is visiting nan Okanagan. “They jammed that authorities done and unfortunately, we’re now seeing nan results.”

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But B.C.’s lodging curate is not backing down.

“We person correct now successful nan organization vacancy complaint of I judge astir 1.5 per cent.  That intends location are a batch of group struggling to find accommodation,” said Ravi Kahlon.

“There’s a batch of group struggling to find a spot to live, and group want to unrecorded successful nan region, and that is our priority. Short-term rentals are still disposable successful nan community. But we want to make judge that afloat homes are disposable for families successful our community.”

Global News reached retired to a fistful of tourism operators successful nan downtown halfway and each reported a alteration successful visitors this season.

Operators of Priest Creek winery said they hoped for a amended equilibrium betwixt a patient lodging proviso and robust tourism industry.

“I deliberation nan authorities needs to return a existent difficult look astatine nan decisions that they’ve conscionable made,” Sawin said. “It decidedly has created a new, bigger problem for our industry.”