Many Quebecers took advantage of free days at SEPAQ this winter.
The Société des establishments de plein air du Québec put 39 free days on the schedule between December 18, 2023 and March 13, 2024. Visitors therefore did not have to pay the daily access fee of $9.55, taxes included. SEPAQ recorded 72,000 entries during these days. The previous year, the company had 57,000 entries, for a slightly lower number of free days.
“It’s interesting to see that there is a fairly significant increase in the use of parks,” comments the Minister responsible for Sport, Recreation and the Outdoors, Isabelle Charest, in an interview with La Presse. There are people who perhaps have never set foot in a park. »
SEPAQ had placed the free days only on weekdays. Minister Charest explains that there is already a high number of visitors to the parks on weekends.
“What we wanted was to increase attendance a little during the week. »
The minister does not believe that this decision penalized workers.
“People’s schedules have changed a lot,” she says. We are seeing more and more people who are teleworking, who have atypical schedules. Taking a few hours to enjoy the park during the week is a great way to broaden your horizons and make sure you use the facilities. »
She notes that SEPAQ also offered free equipment rental during the free days scheduled during the spring break.
“There were 3,000 rentals which made it possible to discover new activities. The objective was to ensure that we use this extraordinary playground in Quebec. »
However, you should not expect SEPAQ to offer free days during the summer.
“The idea is to promote the use of parks and the outdoors all year round,” explains the minister. That’s why we targeted winter. In the summer, there are already many people who benefit from SEPAQ facilities.
A number of free days are expected to return next winter.
“We’ve been doing this for two years, the results are positive,” says Minister Charest. It’s encouraging to see people using these resources. We are working on different scenarios to repeat the experience. »