Quality accommodations, exciting attractions and world class events contributed to another record season in the tourism industry on Prince Edward Island, says Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Heath MacDonald.
“In 2015 the province enjoyed the highest level of overnight stays from June to September since tracking began in 2005,” said Minister MacDonald. “That strength helped make up for an absolutely terrible winter and got the Island back on a track for a second consecutive record season. It is the strength of the industry, especially in rural PEI, and the dedication of tourism operators from one end of the province to the other that continue to inspire record performance on the Island. Events like Fall Flavours, the PEI International Shellfish Festival helped drive visitation, and put our unique culture and world famous hospitality on display. ”
It was the busiest September ever for overnight stays, which combines room nights sold and site nights sold at campgrounds. The province hosted just over 116-thousand overnight stays during the month; an increase of more than 20 per cent compared to September 2014. That contributed to a 2 percent increase year-to-date.
The Confederation Bridge and Northumberland Ferries saw major increases in traffic compared to the same month in 2014. The bridge was up 14.3 per cent and the ferry was up just over 30 percent. Both are tracking well ahead of 2014’s year-to-date numbers with the bridge at 6 per cent and the ferry at 9.8 per cent. The Charlottetown Airport saw an increase of 3.6 per cent compared to last September, but year-to-date the airport is down 2.4 per cent compared to 2014.
The Prince Edward Island National Park, Green Gables House and the Island’s heritage sites all saw major increases in September and are tracking well ahead of 2014 year-to-date levels.
Golf rounds also increased in September compared to last year, but total rounds played year-to-date are just slightly behind 2014.
“2015 is an exciting year for growth in the Tourism Industry, especially measuring up against 2014,” said the Executive Director of the Tourism Industry Association Kevin Mouflier.”It has been extremely encouraging to see September outperform previous years.”
The statistics are provided to the province by individual tourism operators and are compiled by staff in the Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
To see the full report visit http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/current_tourism.pdf
Tourism is a vital industry in Prince Edward Island that provides over 7,000 full time equivalent jobs for Islanders. It accounts for approximately $400 million in economic activity each year and seven per cent of GDP, the highest percentage of any Canadian province.