The Visitors Centre was staffed from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM by
volunteers of the FOMB on weekends from Victoria Day weekend to
Thanksgiving, and by grant-supported students every weekday in
July and August, for a total of 102 days.
Visitors were counted with a clicker as they
entered the Centre or were seen passing by outside. Those who
entered were invited to sign a visitor book, but only1,784 did
so. A notebook for after-hour visitors in the trail map box
outside the Centre was also signed by some hikers. It is
impossible to get an absolute count of park visitors because of
after-hour hikers and multiple entries into the park. Also, we
have no record at all of visitors to the west side of the bay
which is accessed by another road. Trails are open all year, and
are used by many in the off-season. Data for this 2009 report is
based on in-season written records.
The total visitor count this year was 4,484
(in 2008, the total was 3,065), an increase of nearly 47%. This
dramatic rise in number of visitors may be due to our increased
effort to communicate our weekly activity schedule by email to
island lodging and camping sites, to businesses and to
information centers. Also, our events calendar was listed on
this FOMB website (www.miserybay.org).
In addition, we had good publicity in local papers following
events, and one radio interview on CBC 1, Sudbury.
Based on the information from 1,784 visitors
who signed in, this is where our visitors came from in 2009,
compared with a similar number who signed the book in 2008.
| |
|
2009 |
2008 |
| Ontario |
- Manitoulin |
8% |
12% |
| |
- Other Areas |
68% |
63% |
| Other Provinces (7 provinces) |
|
4% |
3% |
| U. S. A. (23 states) |
|
10% |
9% |
| Other Countries (26) |
|
10% |
9% |
|
(Ave. Daily
Attendance: 2009=43.9; 2008=38.8; 2007=30.1;
2006=19.7; 2005=27.4) |
