SUMMERLAND – 2015 has been an exceptional year of new projects and exciting opportunities for the Summerland Chamber.
Here’s a short list of some of those accomplishments:
Tourism Management – The Chamber provides comprehensive Destination Management Services to the District of Summerland. We welcome more than 12,000 visitors each year to our Visitor Centre, provide images, content and design for the Summerland Visitor Guide, manage the image bank and handle all tourism marketing for our town.
Regional Bike Path Guides and Summerland Specific Hike and Bike Trail Map – Building on our region’s tourism and economic development focus on biking as an economic driver, we were a partner in the creation of a comprehensive South Okanagan regional bike map and we also used that data as well as other Summerland hiking material to create a new local bike/hike map.
GoMedia – In 2015 Destination Canada hosted their annual international travel media conference in Penticton. We were exhibitors at this conference and also hosted more than 50 international writers through two ½ day Fam tours in Summerland. We have created a new media section with stories and images on the tourismsummerland.com website and the event has already generated media coverage for our community.
New chamber website: Our new Chamber website was launched in May. A clean new look with important information front and center helps us promote our members and the work of the Chamber, a comprehensive new business directory makes local business easy to find and the site’s responsive design means it is user friendly on all digital platforms, from laptops to handheld devices.
Our Connected Community video – Launched in February, this video showcases the value of shopping locally.
Sector Meetings – This year we hosted a number of meetings within particular sectors to improve our connections to our members and hear their issues.
Business Walks – The Chamber Board, joined by District of Summerland Mayor and Council, also made significant connections with our business community via Summerland’s first ‘Business Walk’. Seven teams were able to meet 66 businesses on the morning of Oct. 22. 90 per cent of respondents said that business was steady or improving and also shared their perspectives on what we can do to improve the business climate in our community.
Regional Economic Development – The Chamber represents Summerland on the South Okanagan Economic Development Consortium as part of our business retention, attraction and expansion portfolio.
Summerland Business and Community Awards Gala – Held the last Saturday of February, the 77th awards Gala celebrated of the best of our Summerland businesses and community supporters.
Festival of Lights – The 28th annual Festival of Lights, organized each year by the Summerland Chamber, celebrated a Country Christmas theme and was bigger and better than ever.
Growing Web and Social Media Presence – The Chamber reaches thousands of unique visitors each year through our three websites. We also have more than 7,000 daily followers across our 3 Facebook pages, 3 twitter accounts, Instagram, Pinterest and Blog.
Please connect with us at www.SummerlandChamber.com to learn more about our work in Summerland and the South Okanagan. The Summerland Chamber of Commerce wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
– Christine Petkau is Executive Director at the Summerland Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at cpetkau@summerlandchamber.com.