Some of the highlights and results of Destination Osoyoos’ activities over the past 12-month operating year include:

• Expanding operational hours by 11% to 2,503, and servicing 42% more visitor inquiries to the Centre totaling 47,594;
• Responding to over 535 client inquiries for new business start-up, relocation, expansion, planning, market research, and site location assistance for commercial and industrial enterprises and an additional 5,234 users of the Community Access Centre, 39 users of the Name Reservation and Business Registration;
• Assisting in securing over $5 million in external financial resources for a number of community projects including:
• Osoyoos Airport – runway expansion, paving
• Sun Bowl Arena – Southern Interior Figure Skating Training Centre
• Nk’Mip Desert & Heritage Interpretive Centre – exhibits, interpretive building
• Osoyoos Museum Society – operational funds, improvements, restoration
• Osoyoos Desert Centre – wheel chair accessibility, washroom, marketing
• Provincial Signage – directional, border crossing welcome
• Provincial Gateway Visitor Info Centre
• Regional tourism strategies – South Okanagan Tourism Alliance
• Community Access Program – equipment upgrade, training, youth interns
• Main Street Beautification Project – fencing, benches, plantings, directional signage, façade improvements
• Valley-wide investment campaigns – regional investment program
• Securing and/or administering 89 contractual agreements from 87 different private, public, and non-profit sector funding programs valued at over $545,450 for community and business development initiatives in the Osoyoos area;
• Organized and hosted a number of special events such as:
• Showcase Osoyoos – providing an opportunity for local businesses to welcome and promote their wares to the Snowbirds with attendance topping 700 people.
• License Inspectors and Bylaw Officers Association of British Columbia Annual Conference – which brought over 125 delegates to the community producing a $55,000 direct economic impact
• 4 th Annual Salmon Bake Fundraiser – partnership between the Osoyoos Indian Band and Destination Osoyoos with 210 in attendance and raising over $10,000 for Visitor Centre operations
• Providing an organizational mechanism for over 5,800 hours of volunteer time to be spent on community development projects;
• Spearheading and participating in a number of joint promotional initiatives to encourage local spending such as “Shop Osoyoos” campaign, tourist attraction passport program, and in-bound snowbird, SuperPages and BC Ferries advertising programs;
• Publishing and distributing marketing materials such as 30,000 copies of the new “Oh’ Osoyoos Visitor Guide” at various Visitor Info Centres throughout the province and Northwest Washington State and development of an Osoyoos area investment highlight package;
• Partnering with the Community Futures Development Corporations and economic development commissions of the Okanagan and Vancouver based S.U.C.C.E.S.S. that assists new immigrants to Canada to participate as part of a presentation to 500 immigrant entrepreneurs considering the Okanagan as a potential location for their business. From that presentation 47 Asian Immigrants toured the community;
• Focusing on more effective marketing and media relations with major travel editors of publications throughout North America which resulted in generating over $314,492 worth of “un-paid” print advertising for our area;
• Participating, and in some cases administering, a number of local, regional, and provincial boards and committees including the Hwy 97 Border Coalition Society where both Arnie Polischuk and Diana Thomas sit as Directors, the Okanagan Science & Technology Council with our Treasurer John Brugman recently being elected to its Board, the Oxbow Restoration Society with our Director Harry Dhaliwal being appointed at this group’s inaugural meetings, and our Executive Director Glenn Mandziuk being re-elected to the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association Board to its Executive, Glenn now sits on the Economic Development Association of British Columbia as Past President and was appointed to the Economic Development Association of Canada as the British Columbia representative;
• Spearheading a number of local beatification projects with the private sector and community volunteers such as the coordination of the redevelopment of the Petro Canada vacant sites within the community which hired four workers through the Human Resources Development Canada Job Creation Program, in the amount of $25,000 to fence and beautify the sites with contributions in the amount of $28,000 coming from Petro Canada to cover the capital costs;
• Improving public access to Internet by partnering with Industry Canada and Whitevalley Resources in the amount of $35,000 to continue to upgrade and expand the network in the South Okanagan; and
• Working successfully with the Okanagan Film Commission on marketing and attracting six productions to the Osoyoos area which included Rattle snake surgery – Knowledge Network, Hollywood and Vines – Terry David Mulligan and Co., Kevin Schmidt, Artist – Independent, Coyote Spirit – Mel Weisbalm, Neal N Nikki – Cameron Morris/Scott Harper, and Citizens Bank Commercial – Ritch Renaud
  
  
  
  Destination Osoyoos Organized an open house for all the businesses and organizations in Osoyoos to create an awareness of what Osoyoos has to offer for our winter snowbird guests. The 2005 Showcase Osoyoos was held at the Sonora Community Centre with over 700 people in attendance. There were 45 booths representing businesses from Osoyoos and area.

  During the course of an international study to identify Best Practices for Economic Development/Tourism Management; consultants for Scottish Enterprise which is the federal Economic Development arm of Scotland; identified Destination Osoyoos as a leading example of a workable model for Economic Development/Tourism Management. They want to apply lessons learned to models in Edinburgh, St. Andrews, and Loch Lomond. It was indicated through extensive world wide research that the Destination Osoyoos’ model and its corresponding results are now considered by them to be in the top 10 in the world. In fact they flew 22 hours in order to meet with Town
  representatives and our staff to learn more about how we operate.
  
  
  
  Further, as part of a research project on rural tourism and recreation 5 students from the MalaspinaUniversityCollege traveled to Osoyoos to meet with Destination Osoyoos and the Director of Leisure Services. Their research indicated that Osoyoos was one of the most impressive communities, in regards to the model used and the results achieved. They had visited over 10 communities on their two week trip around BC and Alberta.
  
  

  Destination Osoyoos in partnership with the Town, and Osoyoos Indian Band pursued and were successful in securing a new $2 million Visitor Info Centre for Osoyoos. The new centre will be one of three provincial Gateway Centres in the amount of $2 million. Premier Gordon Campbell announced the new Provincial Gateway Centre in front of 1,000 delegates at the Annual Tourism BC Conference in February. Along with the Gateway Centre announcement, was the announcement of thirteen new provincial signs located at various entrances throughout the province saying “Welcome to British Columbia ~ The Best Place on Earth”. We are very fortunate to have one located on Hwy 97 south at the border crossing.