The tourism industry remains strong despite weakness in the Ontario and New Brunswick markets in July compared to the same month last year, says Minister of Tourism and Culture Robert Henderson.
“Our overall visitation numbers remain strong despite weakness in both the Ontario and New Brunswick markets,” said Minister Henderson. “It’s difficult to speculate as to why these important markets are showing a decline, but the competitiveness of the industry, new rules for duty-free purchases in the United States and economic uncertainty are all likely factors. Regardless, we remain confident that August and September will show improvements in overall visitation.”
Numbers for air traffic, total golf rounds played and National Park visitation are all up compared to July of last year. Fixed-roof accommodations, campgrounds and the Confederation Bridge were all negatively impacted by the drop in visitation from Ontario and New Brunswick.
“Despite a few bright spots, most of our priority markets have not been performing to the end of July,” said John-Anthony Langdale, Chair of the Tourism Advisory Council. “We continue to work closely with the department as it implements the annual plan with a focus on conversion in our short-haul markets. Major events and their associated marketing hold promise for August and September with such events as Old Home Week, the Atlantic Canada Air Show, PEI Jazz and Blues Festival, Fall Flavours and the Shellfish Festival, to name a few.”
The full list of July tourism indicators can be viewed at www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/current_tourism.pdf