Building More Travel Trade Connections for Kamloops
Building strong travel trade relationships helps bring more international visitors to Kamloops and creates new opportunities for local tourism businesses. Last week, Tourism Kamloops attended the CITAP+ Hidi Nishi Summer Event to strengthen those connections, uncover emerging trends, and showcase everything our destination has to offer.
Tourism Kamloops recently attended the CITAP+ Hidi Nishi Summer Event in Tsawwassen, an important travel trade networking event that connects destinations, accommodations and attractions from across Canada with receptive tour operators (RTO's), and travel agencies based in Western Canada.
While many of our industry partners are familiar with Rendez-vous Canada (RVC), CITAP+ offers a different opportunity. RVC primarily focuses on meeting with international tour operators and travel buyers from around the world. CITAP+, hosted by the Canadian Inbound Tourism Association Plus (CITAP+), brings together receptive tour operators (RTO's) and travel agencies based primarily in Western Canada, many of whom package and sell Canadian travel experiences to international visitors.
Strengthening Kamloops' Presence
This year's event welcomed more than 30 destinations, attractions, and hotel partners, alongside 50+ receptive tour operators (RTO's) and travel agents.
Kamloops was well represented by Tourism Kamloops, PHI Hotel Group, and RZH Hotel Group, giving buyers a strong overview of the destination's growing accommodation options and visitor experiences.
Travel buyers were particularly interested in:
- Our expanding hotel inventory
- Horseback riding experiences
- Kamloops Wine Trail and winery experiences
- Culinary tourism and local dining
- Year-round and shoulder season travel opportunities
These conversations help position Kamloops as more than a stop along the way. They reinforce the destination as a place where visitors can stay longer and experience a diverse range of outdoor recreation, food and beverage, culture, and authentic local experiences.
Learning from Other Destinations
As part of the event, Tourism Kamloops participated in a FAM program that included visits to the Richmond Olympic Oval, Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site, and the Versante Hotel.
Experiencing other destinations firsthand provides valuable insights into visitor experience development, storytelling, partnership opportunities, and product packaging that can help strengthen Kamloops' own tourism offerings.
Looking Ahead
To help inspire future visitation, Tourism Kamloops also contributed a Kamloops Getaway prize package that was awarded to Lion Travel, showcasing the incredible experiences available during our beautiful shoulder seasons.
Travel trade relationships are built over time, and events like CITAP+ are an important part of keeping Kamloops top of mind with the people who package, recommend, and sell Canadian travel experiences to visitors from around the world.
If you're interested in learning more about travel trade opportunities or exploring how your business can become travel trade ready, we'd love to connect. Reach out to Jada Glen, Destination Development & Travel Trade Specialist (), to learn more about how Tourism Kamloops can help your business engage with this growing market.
