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TRUE explores Penticton tourism offerings

Event showcases local experiences for tourism week
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Floating down the Okanagan River Channel is a great, and popular, way to spend a sunny afternoon in Penticton. Western News file photo

Travel Penticton is offering a chance to discover what local tourism has to offer at the annual TRUE Penticton tourism trade show next week.

TRUE is a fantastic event for exhibitors, tourism industry staff and members of the public. It’s a fun and informal way for everyone to get together and talk about what is happening in and around Penticton this tourist season.” said Thom Tischik, Travel Penticton’s executive director.

TRUE — Think Remarkable Unique Experiences — takes place from 2 to 5 p.m. on May 29 in the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre as part of Tourism Week, which runs May 27 to June 2.

“Tourism Week is all about recognizing and supporting all of the people and organizations that contribute to making our city a place that tourists want to keep coming back to,” said Jo Charnock, the project co-ordinator.

They’ve decided to take a different turn on encouraging people to visit all the booths. In the past, they’ve used a passport style stamp card, where attendees collect stamps to encourage them to visit booths.

That has been replaced by a social media photo contest.

“People can go around and they can snap a picture of the booth or themselves and one of the exhibitors and then post it using the three hashtags — #visitpenticton, #tourismmatters and #tourismweek,” said Charnock, explaining they are trying to align with Destination B.C. promotions for tourism week.

“We’ve done the passport thing for a couple of years. People have fun with it but we thought we would try something a bit different this year,” said Charnock.

The prize-winner will be selected at random from the collected social media posts.

This is the fourth trade show put on by the tourism group and the third one under the TRUE banner.

“Our first trade show was quite a small one, held at the Art Gallery, I think, said Charnock. This year, they’re expecting about 50 exhibitors, mostly from Penticton and the region.

“We have some of the wineries from Naramata Bench. We also a lot of the events that we support through funding like Peachfest and Rib Fest, they’ll be attending. We also have tour operators. We have some activity organizations like Hoodoo Adventures,” said Charnock. “It is really a collection of tourism-related businesses that are looking to promote what they are going to be doing for the upcoming season.”

Charnock said there will be a few exhibitors from outside Penticton, like tour operators or representatives from Summerland.

“Some of the wineries will be there and the Ryga Festival. We like to support tourism valley-wide but the majority are local to Penticton,” said Charnock. “It’s completely free for the public and we want people to get engaged. Just come and meet with these people, talk to them and find out what’s going on.”

What: TRUE Penticton Tourism Tradeshow

When: May 29, 2 to 5 p.m.

Where: Penticton Trade and Convention Centrex


Steve Kidd
Senior reporter, Penticton Western News
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