South Okanagan rated best place to travel to this summer

An annual online Canadian vacation ranking site has picked the South Okanagan to top its 20 Best Places to Travel in Canada list this year.

Vacay.ca surveys travel writers each year to create the list, which usually includes mostly big cities and events like the Junos, celebrations and festivals.

“For 2021, while the nation will remain plagued by the COVID-19 crisis for at least a few more months, the focus is on trips for hodophiles (lovers of travel) that lead to nature escapes and small towns that have credibly managed to keep the coronavirus from overwhelming their population,” it says on its website.

This is the first year that the South Okanagan has marketed itself as a destination, it said.

Stretching from Penticton to Osoyoos, the region offers gorgeous scenery, wine tours, lakes, mountains, “a growing bounty of culinary offerings,” a desert, family-friendly resorts and Indigenous culture, the site says.

“The diversity of experiences and the connectivity of the partner communities is what attracts visitors to the South Okanagan,” Brad Morgan, marketing director of Travel Penticton, says on the web site. “We have something for everyone and the scenic route that connects us makes for a day-tripper’s paradise.”

The top 20 list includes five B.C. locations, including Golden and Revelstoke at number 11 and Kelowna at number 19.

Details of the many reasons the South Okanagan is a great place to visit, according to Vacay.ca, can been seen here.

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