As the warm breeze begins to wander through the peach and apricot blossoms in the South Okanagan, it’s usually when the first tourists also begin to blow into town.
But small-town B.C. has shut the virtual door on visitors to help locals stay safe, which means tourism revenue has withered on the vine.
Penticton mayor John Vassilaki has spent 64 summers watching the yearly turnover take place in his Okanagan town. But local beaches and peaches may not feel the same squeeze as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds into 2020, according to a concerned Vassilaki. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Vassilaki told Global News on the eve of Penticton council considering financial measures to help citizens and the city cope with the economic