Coaticook. Despite an 11% drop in traffic, Parc de la gorge de Coaticook managed to perform well in 2023. During the peak season, 265,647 people passed through the turnstiles of the site.
These latest statistics were revealed to officials during the organization's annual general meeting held on Wednesday evening (March 13).
Caroline Sage, General Manager of Gorge Park, gave an overview of the past 12 months, describing this period as “a little more difficult and coming with its share of challenges”. However, she refuses to give up and remains optimistic about the future. “You have to look at these numbers as a whole,” she said. Yes, we have seen a decline in our customer base at the door. However, the parks have seen a very strong increase in attendance during the pandemic. We discovered people. This allowed us to spread our season even further. We are now able to stay in May, June, September and October. People are there early and later in the season. We just need to reframe our ways of doing things and stand ourselves in good stead post-pandemic. This requires a lot of work. There's nothing gained either. »
At the camp level, we recorded more than 103,000 participants. Note that last July, the site had to be evacuated and closed for three days. “I've never seen this since I became director,” she comments.
About 105,000 hikers used the gorge trails last year.
Foresta Lumina attracted 54,764 visitors. Managers noticed that the night attraction was losing momentum. “We are talking about a controlled decline here, because we are welcoming fewer visitors per period of time. We will never return to pre-pandemic levels. The experience is more interesting for visitors this way,” says Ms. Sage.
Added to the summer numbers are 4,529 visitors registered during the winter period.
Nature Discovery Park
At Nature Discovery Park, the number of visitors reached 7,726 last year. This represents a decrease in passengers of about 25%. “We will have to review our strategy, especially at the group level,” admits Caroline Sage, who is also general manager of this Baldwin location.
Among the strategies to attract more visitors to the “little brother” of the Parc de la Gorge, we want to increase awareness of the immersive game Acoatica, launched in 2022.
Another fact to note is that Nature Discovery Park's ponds have been visited by many “undesirable people” over the past 365 days. “There were many predators that came to feed on the fish we stocked. We have significant losses and will have to address the problem.”
Gardens in Good Financial Health
Carolyn Sage stated that, when reading their financial statements, the two organizations are “in good health.” Coatecoke Gorge Park reported revenues of about $2.7 million and expenses of $2.6 million, leaving an operating surplus of just over $150,000.
At Parc Découverte Nature, revenues are US$352,038 while expenses are estimated at US$337,863, representing a surplus of approximately US$14,000.
Note that by adjusting prices for some activities upward, both sites were able to slow the decline in revenue associated with decreased traffic.
