The Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat had a successful summer, says the habitat’s manager.
During Cochrane’s regular council meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 10), Amy Baxendell-Young, manager of the habitat, made a presentation about their quarterly report.
“This was an unbelievable summer for us. I'm just catching my breath. It was so, so busy,” she said.
According to the report, guest admission was up from 2022, averaging 72 visits per day and totalling 683 more visits than last year. The admission revenue increased by $12,680.58.
Gift shop sales and food sales were also up from 2022, bringing in an additional $18,063.79 compared to last year.
Baxendell-Young said the increase in attendance was partially thanks to the return of the heritage day festival and western gaming show.
“The heritage day and western gaming show event, which for the first time was held over two days, proved to be a great success. Over the weekend of July 29 and 30, we hosted 40 riders and their families from across Northern Ontario for the western gaming show portion of the event. The show was sanctioned by the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA), who were so impressed with our facility, that they have already booked in the dates for the 2024 show,” she said.
The heritage day portion of the event featured vendors, displays and games, highlighting the habitat’s heritage village and what it would have been like to live in Cochrane in the early 1900s, Baxendell-Young said.
“From blacksmithing to needlework, this event helped bring the heritage village to life. Approximately 650 guests came through our doors, about four times the number we would see on a regular summer weekend,” she said.
In regards to guest book data, the habitat received 394 entries between June 1 and Sept. 1, showing a significant increase in visitors from inter-provincial and international areas when compared with winter snowmobile season, Baxendell-Young said.
“If you look at the guest book data, the distance that people travel in the summer compared to the winter changes dramatically. So, I thought that was kind of cool,” she said.
"In the winter season, we have majority of our guests are coming from over five hours away. So, from you know, the kind of GTA, Southern Ontario region, but that actually shrunk in the summer, and we got a lot more interprovincial and a lot more local.”
Baxendell-Young said there was an increase of 28 per cent of visitors coming from less than three hours away, compared with 12.7 per cent in the winter.
The animal care team delivered 83 additional ‘experiences’ between June and September, Baxendell-Young said, bringing in additional revenue of $8,960.
“The PBH staff have worked incredibly hard this summer season to ensure that every guest is provided with the best experience during their visit,” she said.
Baxendell-Young said they welcomed four summer students for the first time since 2019, prior to the pandemic.
“Thanks to the students, we were able to open the snack shack for the first time since 2019 which really added to the guest experience. It was a pleasure to work with this enthusiastic group of newcomers to the workplace and we sincerely thank them for choosing to spend their summer with us,” she said.
