Tourism Kelowna, working together with the District of Lake Country, Destination Peachland, and the City of West Kelowna is hosting the first Central Okanagan Tourism Industry Showcase.
Spinal Cord Injury BC will join the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association to announce our recent partnership, the launch of the Access BC project and the new website. The interactive presentation will highlight how the project is providing awareness and resources to the tourism industry regarding accessibility initiatives.
“Accessibility needs to be an important conversation for the Tourism Industry,” said TOTA CEO, Glenn Mandziuk. “As an industry we can make a difference to the lives of our residents and visitors by embracing the ideal of Access for All.”
The partnership between SCI BC and TOTA will help identify and promote tourism products and services that are accessible to all and encourage the local tourism industry to identify the changes they can make so that their services are welcoming to a wide array of abilities. TOTA and its members see over 3.5 million visitors per year. Improved accessibility will allow even more people to enjoy the Thompson Okanagan region.
TOTA, in partnership with Spinal Cord Injury BC and GreenStep Solutions, will also be presenting an overview on their recent acquisition of the Biosphere Sustainable Tourism Designation. TOTA and their members successfully met 137 benchmarks that contain sustainability measurements that track standards such as affordable, clean energy and water use; human rights and social justice; gender equality; cultural diversity and equality; labour standards; health and poverty standards; and, sustainable communities.
The Thompson Okanagan region is recognized as the first Sustainable Tourism Destination in the Americas by Biosphere International and the Responsible Tourism Institute.
