Old Mac is still doing his job — luring travellers off the Trans-Canada Highway. In fact, he’s probably more successful than the figures reveal.
Tourism traffic at the information centre along Thatcher Drive Northeast was up by 4.55 per cent in 2009. That figure represents the travellers who actually entered the tourism building, signed their names and received information. That increase does not include the hundreds of other travellers who pulled off the highway, scampered over to Mac’s enclosure for a photograph and then zoomed off on their way to another destination.
No doubt about it, big Mac is an attention-grabber for the city. The challenge, says Candis Kirkpatrick of Tourism Moose Jaw, is to entice those people into the centre so they can be encouraged to visit all the interesting venues Moose Jaw has in its tourism inventory.
The tutor jet that has joined Mac at the centre is expected to have a positive impact, attracting more photo seekers who hopefully will become officially-registered guests who can be counted in the year’s tally of visitors.
Kirkpatrick is hoping for a 10 per cent increase in guests this year, a figure that potentially can be met because of Mac and the jet, and some ingenious method yet to be introduced for getting those names on a sign-in sheet.
Last year was a difficult one for the industry, but still the province recorded a 20 per cent increase over 2008.
Some creative marketing and a special event or two at the tourism centre might be enough for Moose Jaw to surpass even the 10 per cent expectation. Moose Jaw is counting on Mac again.
