An estimated 2.6 million viewers saw scenes of Summerland last Wednesday as they tuned in to watch The Amazing Race Canada.
The reality show included a segment filmed at the Summerland Waterfront Resort, where contestants participated in a wakeboarding challenge.
“About half an hour of the show was spent in Summerland,” said Lisa Jaeger, sales manager at the resort.
She added that the wakeboarding challenge shows an important side of tourism in Summerland.
“It’s appealing to the free spirit who is interested in more adventure and more action,” she said.
The episode also featured other South Okanagan tourism attractions, including D’Angelo Estate Winery in Penticton, Covert Farms in Oliver, the Osoyoos Desert Model Railroad and Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre in Osoyoos.
The episode was the 10th in the 12-episode reality television show.
Ellen Walker-Matthews, experiences development specialist with the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said bringing the show to the region was a time-consuming process.
About six months ago, scouts for the show met with her and looked at 25 locations in the area.
Walker-Matthews was pleased with the depiction of the South Okanagan in the episode.
“I think it gave an excellent flavour to the region,” she said. “There were some great tourism shots in there.”
Filming was done in May, a week after the Victoria Day weekend. While the weather was cold and rainy that day, the episode showed blue skies, especially on the Summerland portion of the show.
“It was a terrible wet day, but they did a great job of portraying it as not as miserable as it was,” she said.