You could say it made a giant splash.
The inflatable waterpark installed in St. Marys this summer helped boost visits to the town’s iconic swimming quarry to record levels in 2022, tourism and economic development manager Kelly Deeks-Johnson reported this month.
The math isn’t perfect but Deeks-Johnson knows for sure that over 6,000 people checked in online before swimming at the Quarry this year. Because that figure typically represents about 20 per cent of total users, she estimates that roughly 30,000 people took a dip in St. Marys over the summer, a record number that should more than justify attempts to strengthen tourism efforts around the attraction in the future.
“The (SuperSplash Sports Park) was extremely successful,” Deeks-Johnson said. “I really didn’t know what to expect with it, to be honest. We’re going to work to do some more promotion at the quarry next year so that we can give people a snapshot of what’s coming up in St. Marys (and encourage them) to come back and … visit again.”
The inflatable waterpark, which includes a 14-foot tower, was unveiled in June, two years after its installation was delayed by the pandemic. There’s only one other one like it in Ontario. A similar waterpark opened in Binbrook Conservation Area, near Hamilton, in 2018.
“We’re really happy with the way it turned out,” said St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee, adding that revenue from the Quarry tripled this summer. “It brought people to town. We’re hoping to gain some spinoff from that.”
Among that sample size of 6,000 registered users who swam at the quarry this year, 1,883 came from London, according to Deeks-Johnson’s recent report. Another 655 were St. Marys residents, 346 came from Stratford, 212 from Kitchener, and 203 from St. Thomas.
It’s more difficult for the town to track walk-ins, but “we had quite a few people who came from the Goderich area (in Huron County),” Deeks-Johnson added. “That’s new for us.”
St. Marys is currently in the midst of revamping a number of local attractions in an attempt to tap into travelers the nearby Stratford Festival brings to Southwestern Ontario every year. Besides the Quarry, St. Marys is currently dedicating resources to improve Milt Dunnell Field, a park near the downtown core and the Thames River, and its annual Heritage Festival.
St. Marys is also among the Perth County municipalities attempting to improve its cycling infrastructure, an effort inspired by the increased usage of its trails during the pandemic.
On a smaller scale, the Yak Shack in St. Marys also had a successful summer. Nearly 1,000 people rented kayaks in St Marys this summer, including about 600 out-of-towners.
“Day-tripping has become a big deal and I think we were very successful this year,” Strathdee said.
Attracting overnight visits will require some work, however.
A lack of downtown hotels and restaurants in St. Marys, a town of about 7,500, is an obstacle officials would like to overcome.
“We’re always trying, we’re talking,” Strathdee said. Of course we try to piggyback on what’s going on in Stratford but it’s been a tough, tough couple of years for the hospitality industry. It’s hard to get new investment.”