Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
It is a misconception that people who come to Cobourg just to use the beach or dock at the marina do not spend money in town.
“Contrary to popular opinion, the beach and community events do increase pedestrian traffic to the downtown business district – there’s no question about it,” tourism co-ordinator Bryan Mercer stated at council Monday.
“Visitors are dining and shopping, and they are extending their stays.”
Mercer shared statistics that affirm this assertion in a report on metrics that emerged from the 2018 Experience Cobourg campaign.
Among the avenues of information that went into the report were the 506 surveys conducted among this summer’s visitors. Not surprisingly, the GTA was the major origin of these visitors, though they found some from Japan, Ireland, Barbados, the Philippines, Germany and Australia.
Also not surprising is the fact that 86.4% arrived by personal vehicle, but Mercer said it was good news that 7.7% came by boat.
“That shows the popularity of the marina and the knowledge people have of it,” he explained.
As to why they came, 50.7% came for the beach, 28.2% for events, 26.8% to visit friends or family and 26.2% made an unplanned visit.
Almost half participated in a cultural activity or event while visiting, and 19% stayed more than one night.
Some 49% of visitors shopped, and 12.2% of them spent more than $100. As well, 59.7% ate at a local establishment.
While 98.1% said they would recommend a visit to Cobourg, Mercer said, “I want to find those other people who don’t, and I want to know why they wouldn’t.”
Mercer explained two unorthodox means they employed in gathering information. One was cell-phone tracking, with four devices installed at key locations (the beach canteen, the campground, the downtown and Victoria Hall) to detect someone carrying a cell phone. The device could not hack into the phone, he said, but it could trace where the person went from there.
Using only information from that source, he said, 266,271 people were tracked, and they found Aug. 4 was the busiest single day (with 10,771 visitors tracked). The busiest location was the beach, and the busiest times were 2 to 3 p.m. on any weekend afternoon.
The laser counter saw two laser beams shining out from two King Street locations. Basically, anyone breaking the beam was counted. The data showed 1.4-million people circulating in the downtown over the summer.
Tracking traffic to their Experience Cobourg website, Mercer had further good news – 41% came to the site directly, as opposed to migrating there from another site. And while the average time a surfer visits a site is 30 to 45 seconds, visitors to Experience Cobourg stayed an average of two minutes and 11 seconds.
“They are actually reading the content. They are going to the events calendar. They are spending time on it,” he said.
Mayor Gil Brocanier was delighted with the report.
“There are those out there who say we don’t need tourism, but this counters that argument,” Brocanier stated.
“Tourism is very, very important to us.”
“You just concurred with what I have been telling people all along,” Councillor Forrest Rowden agreed.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
