Visitors to Osoyoos will soon be getting Canada’s Warmest Welcome in-person at a number of locations throughout this sunny South Okanagan resort town.

Destination Osoyoos, the area’s tourism services agency, announced today it will launch a new initiative – called Team Osoyoos: Your Local Know-it-Alls – sending trained, uniformed ambassadors to high-traffic spots in town to answer visitors’ questions and provide authoritative information about local facilities, attractions and events.

The new Team Osoyoos service will be offered throughout the months of June, July and August, seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The team members will be strategically located where tourists gather – downtown or at the beach or at special events – delivering a friendly, face-to-face welcome.

The Team Osoyoos members will be easy to find, and each member will have a wealth of information from the Osoyoos Visitor Guide and other sources at their fingertips.  This mobile Visitor Service will provide the kind of friendly, knowledgeable local information and assistance that promises to greatly enhance the visitor experience.  It meets the growing expectation by visitors that information will be provided to them in a timely manner, where they are.  Through interaction with thousands of visitors, Team Osoyoos will also provide valuable feedback for the local tourism industry through data collection and surveys.

Each Team Osoyoos member will receive comprehensive training including:

•  Courses in the famed B.C.-based WorldHost®  customer-service training program.

•  In-depth local familiarization tours of Osoyoos businesses – including hotels, resorts, wineries, golf courses, restaurants and other establishments – to gain detailed knowledge about local services.

•  St. John Ambulance courses in Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Level B, and Automated Electronic Defibrillator (AED).  This is part of DO’s initiative to provide Canada’s Warmest and Safest Welcome.

The Team Osoyoos service was unveiled at DO’s 15th Annual General Meeting, being held today at Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort.  DO Board Chair Don Brogan says, “This new initiative fits in with the many tourism marketing programs and visitor services that Destination Osoyoos carries out with the support of its three main funding partners – the Town of Osoyoos, the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen, and the Osoyoos Indian Band’s NK’MIP Resort.”

Brogan adds that DO has a mandate to grow the Osoyoos tourism industry and develop the area as a sustainable year-round resort of choice for visitors.  “This new Team Osoyoos program is part of our ongoing implementation of the three-year Destination Osoyoos Tourism Market Development Plan for 2011-13.”  The Plan includes four pillars of activity for DO:  Growing Tourism Revenue Through External Marketing; Strengthening the Visitor Experience; Maintaining a Market-Focused Industry; and Strengthening Internal Communications.

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FOR INFORMATION:

Jo Knight, Executive Director

Destination Osoyoos

250-495-5070  ext 202

jknight@destinationosoyoos.com

Don Brogan, Board Chair

Destination Osoyoos

250-495-8200

dbrogan@walnutbeachosoyoos.com