Peachland POST YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
The week of January 17, 2025
PIPE GRIPE Peachland has no plans to replace toxic asbestos water pipes P.6
SPORTS REPORT Making friends, not winning, the point of youth sports P.8
Visit our website at peachlandpost.org • Vol. 1 Issue 3
ABOUT TOWN Find out what’s going on and where it’s happening P.11
BYLAWS IGNORED Princeton Avenue house project unfinished since 2016 P.3
BUSINESS OUTLOOK
Pitching the Peach
Chamber of Commerce believes support for new businesses will attract more tourists in 2025 By Jeff McDonald
Y
Staff Reporter
ou can add the Peachland Chamber of Commerce to the list of local people and organizations not sad to see 2024 recede into the mists of time. Chamber president Jonathan Wall said business was down last year throughout the Okanagan, including Peachland, and he pointed to 2023 fires in the area as a leading cause. “In the entire Okanagan, business was down somewhat last summer, with fires, slides, regulations, especially through 2023,” said Wall, a real estate advisor with Engel & Voelkers. “That seems to have held people up from committing to come to the area in advance. So as a result, we didn’t get the tourism activity that we normally get in Peachland.” But 2025 is a new year, and Wall outlined activities and strategies the chamber is working on to rebuild Peachland and the Okanagan as a top-of-mind place to visit for tourists for 2025 and beyond. That begins
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with support for a number of new businesses that have opened in Peachland recently. “They’re the type of businesses that we hope will draw people into town and then spin off into other businesses,” he said. “Peachland residents have always supported local businesses, and we’re hoping with the return to previous tourist numbers we’re going to have a good 2025.” Wall said the chamber is working closely with Tourism Kelowna to make sure that Peachland businesses are getting exposure in Jonathan Wall their marketing activities. He also said the chamber works with the Regional District of Central Okanagan and Okanagan Valley chamber partners to enhance the voice of Peachland businesses and support policies that benefit them. “An example is the Kelowna airport which is growing and expanding with SEE PITCHING PAGE 7
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