See the Gaspésie Before it is Too Late

One of the first companies to bring groups to the Gaspé region was Tauck Tours. The company began in 1925 when 27-year old travelling salesman Arthur C. Tauck first offered an organized tour for six passengers in a Studebaker touring car. “Ten minutes after leaving Newark, we shall be one just happy family, properly chaperoned, out for a good time. I want no grouches or pessimists,” was one of the lines in the advertisement that appeared in New Jersey newspapers.

In their 1941 brochure, Tauck Tours promoted weekly departures between July and September for the Gaspé from New York City for $165 for a 13-day tour. One of the key selling points Tauck used to promote the region was the negative impact of the sudden invasion of tourists – a well-known marketing tool in the tourism industry – “see the Gaspésie before it is too late”. “The Gaspé Peninsula is becoming increasingly popular as its fame is spread abroad by returning travelers who have seen and appreciated its unique charm. Now is the time to visit Gaspé so that you may see it in all its unspoiled simplicity, for future years will tend to commercialize a country which is now unaffected by modern progress.”