• New Activities

• New Products

New Activities

Tourism in the Eastern Townships underwent a period of rejuvenation and diversification from the 1960's to the 1980's, which developed new activities from the lakeshore and mountain based tourist tradition. The main new activity of the second half of the twentieth century in the region was alpine skiing. Mount Orford, established in 1938, was the only ski hill in the townships until Mount Sutton opened in 1959, which inspired many more to be created in the area throughout the 1960's, now nine in total. Along with the activity of alpine skiing came ski instructors, ski rentals, day care facilities, restaurants and accommodations to attract more tourists and serve their many needs. This meant that many ski hills were developed into resorts that offered year round activities. Many hills were expanded to include golf courses, aquatic parks, equestrian centers, mountain biking trails and outlet stores.

Included in the new tourist activities was the introduction of public camping grounds such as Bacon’s Bay, Camping ‘67 and Witcomb’s Beach, which were all situated along Lake Memphremagog. These campgrounds provided tourists with waterfront areas for trailers and tents to be set up close to fire pits, picnic tables, washrooms and boat rentals. Camping grounds also allowed for an extension of the tourist season because they provided an inexpensive alternative to the resort hotels that offered many of the same activities.

A reason the tourist industry in the Eastern Townships was able to undergo such a wide variety of multi-seasonal activities was that the roads leading into the region were slowly being improved. In 1965, Highway 10 was extended into Magog and in 1971, it led all the way to Sherbrooke. This meant that the townships were no longer isolated from tourists not able to take the Vermont ferry into the area and new products were introduced to deal with the influx of vacationers.

The new products of the Eastern Townships tourist industry were introduced in the early 1980's and include such things as historical institutions, rural-agricultural attractions, bike trails, old industries and art shows. New products are designed to give tourists relatively inexpensive activities to partake in that were not the main tourist attractions in the area. In order to maximize the success of these products the Tourist Association of the Eastern Townships was established in 1979 to attract tourists and to teach them about the region. The association immediately got involved in the Coaticook Gorge project, the enlargement of Orford Park, expanding ski hills and the creation of the Chartierville Magnetic Hill. Their efforts were successful as tourism revenue increased from twenty million dollars in 1979 to one hundred and ninety four million dollars in 1994 with over 3.4 million tourists visiting the area.

The Tourist Association of the Eastern Townships helped establish Magantic, Orford, Frontenac and Yamaska Provincial Parks as well as many package deals that offered diverse activities for tourists at a set price. The association also helped create the appeal of agro tourism, which consists of farm tours, educational and recreational activities, (exotic animals, apple and berry picking, etc.), animated by a farmer or farm workers, as well as the on-site sale of agricultural products. The extreme popularity of vineyards on the tourist circuit that offered guided tours, wine tasting, restaurants and boutiques. Le Route des Vins (the wine route) was also created to map out all the vineyards in the region that now make up one half of tourism revenue.

Human based features became popular tourist attractions in the Eastern Townships during this period. The Piggery Theatre in North Hatley, festivals, cultural institutions and events, historical societies and villages, churches, old industry and mine tours, architecture and local art shows allowed tourists to see a more personal side of the region, away from the traditional nature based activities.

Bike trails were also introduced to appeal to the changing priorities of tourists interested in physical activity and exploration. The provincial government passed legislation in 1987 that allowed railroad companies to sell their abandoned land and many towns in the region purchased the property for bike trails, as the land was already flat and level. This development was referred to as "rails to trails" and allowed for bikes in the spring and summer and snowmobiles in the winter, thereby offering tourists year-round enjoyment of the area.

Since the 1850's, the tourist industry in the Eastern Townships has undergone many changes that can largely be attributed to advancements in transportation methods and routes, which maximized the accessibility of the region. The natural beauty of the area has brought the successful tourist industry out of doors, for the most part, where the diverse and unique aspects and characteristics of the Eastern Townships are experienced by people from all over the world.