One of the biggest challenges for visitors to the South Okanagan is finding all those wineries. According to Miles Prodan of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, 80 percent of B.C. grapes are grown in the area between Oliver and Osoyoos. However, not all of the wineries are on Highway 97, which means people often have to rely on maps or signs to find them.

That’s about to change, thanks to new audio commentaries developed by TOTA in conjunction with a Banff company called GPS Tour Guide. Tourists will soon be able to rent a small device ($39 for the first day) called a GyPSy Guide that uses the global positioning system to direct drivers to wineries and agritourism destinations between Osoyoos and Vernon. The device can be picked up at visitor centres in Kelowna, Penticton, and Osoyoos, and at any of GPS Tour Guide’s 14 distribution centres between Vancouver and Calgary. Drivers attach it to the front window and plug a connection into the power supply or lighter. They can then listen to the commentaries on an FM–radio frequency through the vehicle’s stereo system.

Prodan said a commentary won’t sound like a radio ad for the winery: “It really is descriptive. It’s in a noncommercial way.”

The U.S. Department of Defence developed GPS, which can be used to determine a vehicle’s location by using satellites. Rick Bulich, general manager of GPS Tour Guide, told the Straight in a phone interview that the GyPSy Guide provides a “guided-commentary experience” for those who don’t want to sit on a bus or follow someone else’s schedule.

He explained that his firm was spun off from a sightseeing company. He said the developers of the GyPSy Guide saw how others were using GPS technology, and they wondered if it could be applied to tourist attractions between Calgary and Vancouver. They figured out how to create audio files and pictures for very precise sites, which are activated when a vehicle approaches these locations.

“Some people think it’s computer-generated, but it’s not,” Bulich said. “It’s real tour guides who have
prepared the information, and it’s presented by professional voice people. We really try hard to make it entertaining and not just informative.”

Prodan said he can see TOTA using this technology to promote tourism in other parts of the region, which extends from Mount Robson and
Wells Gray provincial parks through Shuswap Lake country and down to Grand Forks and Christina Lake. TOTA’s mandate also extends to just west of the Ashcroft–Cache Creek area. Major centres in the region include Kamloops, Kelowna, and Penticton.

There’s easy access from the Lower Mainland via the Coquihalla Highway or Highway 3, and Osoyoos is approximately four hours from Vancouver by vehicle. “We’ve got these natural circle routes,” Prodan said. “People come out for a couple of days, spend some time wine touring, and they’re back home again.”

TOTA highlights 14 golf courses in the region at www.togolfbc.com/. Golfers can book tee times on-line, and read reviews by people who’ve played the courses, which include Sun Peaks Resort, Predator Ridge in Vernon, and Tobiano in Kamloops. Prodan said there are also abundant fishing opportunities in the North Thompson area and boating on Shuswap Lake, both drawing many tourists during the summer.

As for lodging, he said there has been a big improvement in recent years. “For the longest time, we were known somewhat tongue-in-cheek for our peaches and beaches—a lot of family motels,” he quipped. “We’ve seen that come up exponentially in the last number of years.”