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Failing grades for attraction - Paul Ouellette

I don't know how Science North CEO Jim Marchbank measures success in the tourism industry, but in most cities success is measured by amount of nights stayed in the city by the tourists.

I don't know how Science North CEO Jim Marchbank measures success in the tourism industry, but in most cities success is measured by amount of nights stayed in the city by the tourists.

If you measure Science North by this scale, it is clearly a monumental failure.

Marchbank likes to boast about the 6.4 million tourists who have visited Science North in the last 25 years. Does the 6.4 million visitors also include the primary school students from Sudbury, Timmins and North Bay who come year after year for a three-hour visit?

If Marchbank was to subtract these visits, what would be the real tourist count?

Both of my children have gone to Science North eight times with their schools. These two schools alone account for 140,000 visitors over the last 25 years.

Marchbank can brag all he wants, but Science North is a failure.

Paul Ouellette
Val Therese