River channel a hit in spite of smoky skies
Special to the Herald
Forest fires burning throughout the province made for dark and smoky days this summer, and while temperatures remained hot, tourism in Penticton was not.
“It’s been tough. We’ve had smoke in years prior to this, but I don’t think it’s been this thick,” said Nick Kruger, manager of Coyote Cruises, which rents tubes and provides transportation for people to float down the Okanagan River channel.
“Tourists aren’t here avoiding the outdoors — they’re cancelling trips all together.”
His business offers online booking services, and many customers’ scheduled trips were cancelled followed by apologetic e-mails from families explaining that plans to visit the Okanagan had been put on hold.
For some, however, cancelling their trip wasn’t an option and, as Kruger saw first-hand, many tried to make the best of their time despite the conditions.
“A lot of visitors from Europe and overseas remained committed and floated down the channel,” he said. “They came all this way and don’t want to go home without doing it.”
David Prystay, general manager of the Penticton Lakeside Resort, noticed the hotel seemed a little quieter than normal this summer.
“Summer was great until the smoke arrived,” he said. “And it’s everywhere — for tourists, not only is there smoke in Penticton, there’s also smoke at home. Why come all this way to have the same experience you’d get staying at home?”
His hotel was also affected by the cancellation of the 50-team Peach Classic youth soccer tournament earlier this month.
Business wasn’t down across the board, however.
Patt Dyck, who owns The Cannery Brewing Company with her husband, Ron, noted traffic there remained steady throughout the summer season.
“People were definitely resigned to the whole smoke situation,” she said.
“But families are welcome here and many spent their days indoors with us playing board games.
“We couldn’t have the doors open like we normally do, and our patio was impacted by the smoke,” Dyck said. “It really was a shame. But we breathe a sigh of relief knowing that we have the air conditioning instead.”
Kruger and Coyote Cruises now plan to make the most of what’s left of the tourist season.
“I’m wishing the best for our competition. We want everyone — tourists and local — to be here next year and not be discouraged,” he said.
“We hope these last four or five days are good for everybody.”