Research information includes custom reports we have created profiling visitors to the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) and public reports from Destination BC and Destination Canada that are relevant to the Similkameen Valley. Review this page for updates on Destination BC research, baseline reports and links to further information.
Your business can benefit from this research. Review the following information. Start with VISITOR PROFILES, then MARKET PROFILES.
Contact: Simone Carlysle-Smith 250-575-7247 support@similkameenvalley.com
NEW STANDARD – DESTINATION CANADA TRAVELLER SEGMENTATION & AI-POWERED TOURISM DATA
Destination Canada replaced the Explorer Quotient (EQ) market segmentation launched in 2005, with the new traveller segmentation system released in December 2024, which supports the tourism industry through integrated systems with its Provincial partners. Market profiles for international and domestic markets are available. Currently, the new segments are mapped to the PRIZM profiles, and we await further information.
Destination Canada’s Global Segmentation research and data show that Canada’s target guests are attracted to authentic, unfiltered experiences… 65% of these guests are more likely than other travellers to seek out destinations that feel unique and authentic.
Learn more about Aurora AI: Canada’s New Edge in Tourism Insight
Learn about the new system from Destination Canada’s Data Collective portal.
Learn about the Traveller Segmentation Program. View the program launch recording.
For the Similkameen Valley, the following segments are a fit.
Outdoor Explorers are characterized by a likelihood to travel domestically, with top activities including nature experiences, water sports, high-intensity sports, festivals, and events. Their emotional travel motivations include adventure, novel & authentic experiences, and accomplishment.
Culture Seekers are motivated by novel and authentic experiences, connections, and familiarity, with top activities including cultural experiences, attractions, and festivals. Their emotional travel motivations include novelty, authenticity, connections, and familiarity.
Refined Globetrotters (lower Similkameen) seek novel and authentic experiences, bonding, and security, and frequently participate in cultural experiences, cuisine, and guided tours. Their emotional travel motivations include seeking novelty, authenticity, security, and bonding, with some also motivated by fun or escape & relax.
Purpose Driven Families are motivated by bonding, novel and authentic experiences, and adventure, focusing on family-focused attractions, nature experiences, and cultural experiences. This segment often seeks novelty and authentic encounters, wanting to open their minds to new perspectives and explore different things and places. They also value security and a sense of belonging in their chosen destinations.
Wine Sector: Wine tourism encompasses a range of activities, including vineyard tours, wine tastings, wine and food pairings, educational experiences, and participation in local wine festivals and celebrations centred around the appreciation, tasting, and purchase of wine. Key BC market segments that are a fit for the Similkameen Valley include:
- SOCIAL SAMPLERS are young, open-minded, pay attention to marketing and promotion, spend more on wine than a typical drinker, and are on social media and wine apps
- ENGAGED EXPLORERS drink the most wine, including BC wine. Wine type, origin, and quality assurance are important. Wine is social; they like to travel and visit wineries.
- PASSIONATE ADVOCATES drink the most wine, spend the most on wine, and are concerned with wine attributes and features. Confident in their wine knowledge.
Resources
Learn about all seven Traveller Segments and identify which are a fit for your business, or review the Canadian & US profiles on our markets page. In addition, insights for the Wine Sector can be found on the markets page.
DESTINATION BC INTERNATIONAL TARGET AUDIENCES
Destination BC has identified the Similkameen Valley as part of the Highway 3 travel route nested in the Rainforest to Rockies brand and the lower Similkameen Valley for the Valleys and Vineyards branded travel route. The two international target audiences for both these routes include Outdoor Explorers and Refined Globetrotters.
Review the research section of the Destination BC tourism industry website.
DESTINATION BC – COMMUNITY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Destination BC launched its community research program in 2025 to provide visitor volume and origin data for the Canadian, US, and International markets.
While data is available at the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen level of geography and by some RDOS areas for comparison, the platform is cost-prohibitive for rural areas; therefore, we will report on the information available before the free access was closed.
It’s important to note that our historical data uses the Environics Analytics PRIZM segments that were analyzed to define our custom target groups in 2022, which has been comparing trends since 2019.
Destination BC has concluded the free access time limit of its program. Visitor trends to the RDOS indicate that Canadian travel is up slightly 1.1% over the same period as the previous year, from (Jan 1-July 31, 2025) . The average length of stay was 2.47 nights per trip, with longer stays from BC markets. The seasonal highest visitor volume is July (which coincides with our website statistics), BC remains the number one domestic market for our area (consistent with other BC communities). Visitor volume was over 1.2 million people to the RDOS Jan-Dec 2025.
The program is now “pay to play” and we do not anticipate a pricing structure that supports small rural areas like the Similkameen Valley.
The Destinations Insights Platform (DIP) is a centralized tool developed to help partners access and analyze tourism industry performance data. The vision for the DIP pilot project is a suite of dashboards including Visitor Behaviour (powered by Environics), Flights (powered by ForwardKeys), Fixed Roof Accommodation (powered by CoStar), and Short Term Rentals (powered by AirDNA), to provide data equity across the province, to reduce data purchasing duplication, and most of all, to support planning and decision-making to grow a collaborative, insights-driven tourism industry in British Columbia. In partnership with ROVE marketing. There is an option to purchase access via license agreements to the online dashboard that displays visitor data, with options for communities to access more localized data.
PRIZM VISITOR PROFILE REQUEST PENDING DESTINATION BC
Visitor Profiles using the PRIZM segmentation for the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District (RDOS) is pending a request to Destination BC Research Services to acquire visitor PRIZM segments based on BC visitors. If possible, data will be compiled into custom target groups for comparative analysis with previous years. The timing and which data vintage will be received are unknown due to the release of the online dashboard system and data supplier license agreements.
LATEST RDOS VISITOR PROFILE ANALYSIS – 2022
The domestic visitor research for the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District (RDOS) uses the 2022 visitor data from mobile devices. New methodologies were updated from key data supplier Environics Analytics, providing the new baseline. The research was supplied by Destination BC as part of the Highway 3 Research Legacy project. In 2025, Environics Analytics announced its latest dataset update.
Insights from our analysis of the RDOS geo-fenced area summarize the top personas who have visited and identify them by target groups for niche campaigns and content creation.
Visitor and market research can be used to inform decision-making for local businesses, governments, and organizations that support the tourism industry. Applying the research to target marketing, content creation, experience design, and destination development benefits the collective.
Thompson okanagan Residents’ Perceptions of tourism
Destination BC conducts research on resident sentiment towards tourism. Review the full set of reports on their website. For the Thompson Okanagan Region and BC as a whole, 80% of respondents indicated they value the contribution visitors make to their local economy. Results for tourism contribute positively to the quality of life in my community, 73.2 % TO region and 70.5% BC overall.
PROVINCIAL VALUE OF TOURISM
The latest release from Destination BC Value of Tourism snapshot indicated that in 2024, tourism revenue, which measures the money received by businesses, individuals and governments due to tourism, was 23 billion dollars, up 4.2% over 2023. Refer to their website for more information.
