The funding will support the Destination Osoyoos Development Society's renovations of the Sun Bowl Arena, which will include upgrades to the existing 2,300 square foot mezzanine area which will be converted to the off-ice training/fitness facility, a 1,200 square foot dressing room, 440 new seats to replace the current wooden bench style seats, four new storage carts for safekeeping of arena glass and painting and landscaping to improve the exterior of the facility.

"Having a facility of this calibre here in Osoyoos will encourage more people to try out ice sports and engage in a healthy lifestyle," says Barisoff. "Thanks to the hard work of groups like the Destination Osoyoos Development Society, we may even see a future Olympic medallist coming from right here in the Osoyoos region."

 A bigger and better Oh, Osoyoos! Visitors Guide will be landing in the hands of visitors, prospective visitors, and local residents this coming spring.

An Okanagan firm with a wealth of experience in the tourist promotion publishing field, MJO Communications, has been awarded a three-year contract to publish the tourist guide, with the next edition of the guide scheduled for delivery March 15, 2006 .  A total of 45,000 copies of the guide will be produced  this coming year, rising to 50,000 in 2007 and 55,000 in 2008.  Distribution of the Visitors Guide, which will also be enhanced, will be handled by Destination Osoyoos.

For the past three years, Destination Osoyoos has produced the Oh, Osoyoos! Visitors Guide in-house.  The guide has been extremely well-received by visitors to this area, who constantly comment on the detailed information, and the guide's striking appearance.Two months ago, the board of directors of Destination Osoyoos decided that it was time to move to the next level, and put the 2006 guide out to tender rather than producing it internally.  This was included and endorsed in the organization's Annual Operations Review and Strategy Report presented to an Osoyoos Town Council public meeting last month. 

The decision was not made lightly.  Destination Osoyoos produced a Request for Proposals (RFP) and asked for proposals from a number of companies,  including both local newspapers and a number of other Okanagan and Lower Mainland-based firms.

Those making submissions were asked to bid on a three-year contract, with the successful contractor to provide planning, coordination, advertising sales, art design, and execution and publishing of the new guide, as outlined in the RFP.  MJO Communications was ultimately chosen as the successful bidder.

"The RFP process was very detailed and comprehensive, which was certainly further demonstrated in the response we received from the interested candidates",  says Sonya Konig, Director of Visitor Services at Destination Osoyoos.  "The selection was not easy, as each candidate demonstrated a high calibre of professionalism and each had an excellent track record in producing exceptional-quality Okanagan-wide tourism guides".

Mary-Jo O’Keefe, proprietor of MJO Communication comments “Our Team is very pleased to be selected to produce the Official Osoyoos Visitors Guide. An area’s visitor’s guide is the cornerstone of their destination development; currently Osoyoos has so many exciting projects that are underway, it has a unique opportunity to capitalize on the momentum created to really heighten awareness of their town and region to the traveling public. This is a very exciting project and we are very happy to be involved.”

Some of the enhancements to the Visitors Guide you can expect to see for the upcoming editions include a higher quality paper, new sections that will further promote our community from local shopping to agri-tourism to arts and culture, improved listings of accommodators and attractions.

In addition, through the Visitor Information Centre Network program the Visitor Guides will now be available at the Super, Natural British Columbia Exhibit at Tourism Vancouver’s downtown centre. “This is a huge bonus, this extends our reach significantly enabling travelers to select Osoyoos as their chosen vacation destination way ahead of time. Also capturing on those tourist who are coming off the cruise-lines looking to extend their time in British Columbia ” says Konig.

For more information:
Sonya Konig
Director, Visitor Services
Destination Osoyoos
Box 500 , Osoyoos BC V0H 1V0
Tel : 250-495 5070 Fax:250-495 8081
Email : skonig@osoyoos.ca

The Staff and Volunteers of Destination Osoyoos wish you a safe and happy holiday season, and all the best in 2006.