Doing research and transactions on the Sépaq website should be much less complicated, admits the new CEO of the state-owned company, which promises to deliver a “super simple” online reservation system for access to sites of Quebec.
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“The transaction must be super simple, and so must the research we do. We have seduced you, but it takes almost three clicks to get to the reservation,” says Martin Soucy in an interview on the first day of his five-year mandate as CEO of Sépaq.
“While competition is very intense here and elsewhere in the world, if we cannot make people’s lives easier, we will no longer be competitive.”
It’s a homecoming for Mr. Soucy, who spent the last seven years at the Tourism Industry Alliance after spending most of his career working for the crown corporation.
A beneficial break, which allowed him to have another perspective on Sépaq.
“Being out for a few years, there was something it gave me: I got out of management completely and became a client. And I was able to see that both in the business rules and the website, there is a work in progress,” he relates.
Complexity
In fact, simply reserving a campsite can be a fairly complex undertaking for those who do not have experience navigating Sépaq sites.
You cannot, for example, book directly on the website of the national park where you want to go.
Instead, you have to go through a reservation platform, first choose the type of activity you want to do, and then the park.
Then you have to consult the availability of the different campsite spaces individually, which takes some time.
Questioned on this subject, Mr. Soucy recalls that a “digital transformation” operation is already underway at Sépaq.
“We have the budgets to do it, but it will take some time,” he emphasizes.
“But I’m convinced it’s going to land during the five-year term, I’m not even afraid to say that.”
Prices
However, there is no question for the moment of reviewing the price list for stays in national parks, despite the economic situation which means that Sépaq customers have less money in their pockets.
“I am sensitive to that,” said Mr. Soucy, recognizing that “it is not easy” for families to cope with inflation and rising interest rates.
“But you should know that Sépaq is not financed exclusively by the government. The vast majority comes from what we receive in own-source revenue,” he explains, recalling that the state corporation is responsible for maintaining an asset base of $2.4 billion.
“If we want to leave it in good order and people benefit from it, it must not fall apart,” says the CEO.
Recommendations from the new CEO of Sépaq
When asked what his favorite national park is, Martin Soucy starts laughing. “You ask me that on my day one. We’re going to make people jealous!” he replies.
To get out of the embarrassment, the new CEO of Sépaq talks about his love for hiking with the family, which allows him to “get away from the screens”, but he still names certain parks that he likes, including those in Mont-Tremblant and Hautes-Gorges-de-la-rivière-Malbaie.
He also believes that Quebecers would benefit from discovering the Miguasha national park, in Gaspésie, which is on the UNESCO world heritage list.
“It’s a smaller site, but it’s a gem that deserves to be much better known,” he says.