Like many others, Naramata resident Andy Cannon was shocked to learn of the sudden closure of the Naramata Inn.
“It’s a beautiful place, beautiful building, lovely ambience,” Cannon said. “I am very disappointed, we are vey disappointed to hear that it is closing.”
The Naramata Inn announced the closure on social media on Thursday.
The post states, “The Naramata Inn has closed indefinitely as of Wednesday, 1 January 2025. This decision reflects the continued challenging conditions for tourism and hospitality in the Okanagan.”
The closure of the iconic inn, which was built in 1908, comes after what many tourism operators described as a flat tourism season.
“The economy is challenging across the country and tourism has been taking its fair share of the brunt of that economic change,” said Ellen Walker-Matthews, the CEO of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association.
“We saw it this summer. We saw a lot of people come to the region, not necessarily spend as much money as in the past.”
Global News reached out to Naramata Inn but did not receive a response by publication time.
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Industry leaders say tourism alone can’t be blamed for the closure of the Naramata Inn.
“There’s a normal attrition that happens every year, and during COVID, a lot of that didn’t happen because businesses were being propped up by grants and other special funding mechanisms. And so we’re seeing businesses that are just naturally not moving forward, that might have closed down earlier on,” said Walker-Matthews.
They’re closures that Walker-Matthews said may continue.
“We might see more of this than we might normally in a year because it is a buildup of other years,” she said.
The Naramata Inn, which includes a dozen rooms, was built in 1908.
In its online closure announcement, its current owners, Naramata Hospitality Limited Partnership, vowed to preserve its historical value.
“While the Inn is closed to the public, Naramata Hospitality Limited Partnership is committed to the preservation of this important historical property and will be investing to maintain it in excellent condition,” stated the post.
While its future is in limbo, the hope is the Inn can
“I hope that as we move forward in the future that someone will, the current owners or new owners will come back to the Naramata Inn and and continue to operate it,” said Walker-Matthews. “It’s certainly a jewel in the region and very important to the Village of Naramata.”
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