When the iconic elephant rock collapsed at New Brunswick’s Hopewell Rocks in March, there were concerns it may have a negative impact on tourism in the region.
However, the numbers are in, and it appears the tourist destination has had a record-breaking year.
More than 260,000 people have visited the area so far this year – an increase of 25,000 people over the previous record set in 2002.
Park staff say a summer of warm sunny weather, the exchange on the American dollar, and the collapse of the iconic elephant rock earned the area some international attention.
“I didn’t see something like that in another country, so I’m curious,” said Elise Bourlot, who is visiting from France.
However, most visitors are from New Brunswick or neighbouring provinces.
“We certainly get lots of New Brunswickers, which is great, but just over 100,000 of our visitors this year would have been directly from Quebec or Ontarion,” said Kevin Snair, supervisor of interpretive services.
Snair says many of the people who tour Hopewell Rocks also visit other parts of the Maritimes.
“There’s so much going on here in the Maritimes. New Brunswick has loads to offer, you could certainly have a whole vacation right here, that’s for sure,” said Snair. “I think people are still doing it as a bigger package sort of deal.”
The site officially closed to the public Monday, but there are still about a dozen or so bus tours scheduled to visit this week. A final tally for this record-setting year will be announced in a few weeks.
“Last year we were up roughly 29 per cent to 227,000, so this year is a significant increase over the previous year,” says Noel Hamman, property manager for Hopewell Rocks.
“It’s not strictly about the numbers. It’s about the experience of the guests, and we’re really focusing on, what is the impact of increased numbers and how do we manage that more effectively?”
Some park officials are already in China, working to secure more foreign trips for next year.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis
