Peace Garden Visitor Numbers Down

Despite this week's warm temperatures, planning an outdoor picnic is probably the last thing on m...  More »

Despite this week's warm temperatures, planning an outdoor picnic is probably the last thing on most people's minds this time of year. But at the International Peace Garden, they're already preparing for another busy summer... Employees estimate the Peace Garden welcomed between 150 and 160-thousand visitors this year. They say those traffic numbers are good compared to recent years when they worried passport requirements would keep folks on both sides of the border away. Over the past few years, CEO Douglas Hevenor says they were down about 20,000 people on average per year, but because most people now know you do not need a passport to visit the Peace Gardens, they've recovered a good portion of that traffic. However, Hevenor says they did see other declines this season. ( Douglas Hevenor / Intl. Peace Gardens CEO/COO) "The one thing that we have seen is that...economic times, we've seen a little downturn in exhiliary spending, our retails are off a little bit, our food sales are down a little bit. People came and used our garden, they used the picnic areas, but they brought a picnic lunch." Peace Garden employees are hoping that with the completion of several new projects, they will be able to nearly double the number of visitors to the site to about a quarter of a million people.  « Less