What taxpayers get for $6.2M spent by Kelowna Tourism

Millions of dollars are spent each year to attract tourists to Kelowna, so here’s what those tax dollars bought.

Tourism Kelowna recently released its annual report for 2025 and it had $6.237 million in revenue, most of which came from tax dollars, and it spent $6.208 million.

The destination marketing budget was $2.1 million, while another $2 million went to wages. Tourism Kelowna also spent $744,000 on meetings, conferences and events, another $623,818 on community and visitor engagement and $600,000 on administration.

As for where the money came from, Tourism Kelowna received $4.6 million from the municipal and regional district tax marketing fund, and another $455,128 from municipal and provincial funds, the rest came from partner advertising or retail.

Tourism Kelowna spent the $2 million on email marketing, display ads and social media advertising to get 96 million paid ad impressions, meaning the ads were displayed that many times. It focused on increasing shoulder-season visits from people in B.C., Alberta and Ontario.

Tourism industry indicators improved in 2025 with visitors spending up 2.1 per cent and total trips up by 5.2 per cent, but the average nights per trip was down by 4.3 per cent.

That trend does match what’s going on across the country with domestic travel increasing. Domestic tourism spending was up by 13.5 per cent across the country in 2025.

According to Tourism Kelowna’s own survey, 72 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the job it’s doing at promoting the city as a destination.

The report said Kelowna has a $2.4 billion visitor economy, attracting 2.2 million visitors each year, generating 12,630 jobs and $226 million in taxes.

Central Okanagan economic development commission manager Krista Mallory said it’s important to attract events and investment in tourism.

“A vibrant, year-round economy enhances our region’s competitiveness and resilience benefiting residents while positioning the Central Okanagan as a dynamic place to visit,” Mallory said in the report.

Tourism Kelowna did not respond to an interview request.