Tourism Kelowna isn't sitting idly by when it comes to getting the message out that the entire region isn't burning.
Tourism operators are experiencing, in some cases, lost business after lightning strikes last week set several fires including a significant one between Summerland and Peachland.
President and CEO Lisanne Ballantyne says social media is helping many travelers decide that the Okanagan Valley is indeed safe.
"The biggest influencer on a traveler is another traveler saying on social media that everything is ok, there is a picture of a blue skies, please come down and we are open for business. So what changed this year is social media is becoming a huge tactic in changing those misrepresentations."
Ballantyne says despite last year’s flooding, the region was resilient, with hotel occupancy showing just a small drop from a record breaking year in 2016.
"Even with the several weather conditions last year, at the end of the year, hotel occupancy was down just less than .3 percent over 2016 which was a record year right across the region", Ballantyne added.