The Minister of Fisheries and Tourism, Kevin J. MacAdam took great exception to the information thrown about by the opposition party earlier today in regards to the tourism industry of our province.
"The opposition seems to feel that the work done througout the industry is lacking and in need of introspection", noted Minister MacAdam. "I suggest that $14,000,000 over and above last year's revenues added to the coffers of our province is something that the industry should be recognized for, not discouraged."
Tourism statistics revealled that expenditures to the province rose in 1999 to a total of $302.6 million in spite of a slight decrease in visitations. The Minister added, "I am very surprised that MLA Robert Morrissey, a former tourism minister himself, would suggest that the marketing campaigns for our province need to be revisited by government alone. Mr. Morrissey obviously forgets that the marketing campaigns are a collaborative effort, driven by the voices of those who make up the tourism industry here on Prince Edward Island. They determine the marketing campaign as a group, not the government in isolation, and to cast disparaging remarks on the quality of the campaign is, in effect, a slight to the Islanders who work so hard to create a strong presence for our Island."
The statistics for the past three years indicate an increase in revenues each year since the opening of the Confederation Bridge in 1997. The increase realized in 1997 was the largest percentage of increase in Atlantic Canada history, both in visitations and in revenues. Minister MacAdam added, "I might remind the opposition that in 1996, the last year the opposition was in power, the revenues DECREASED by almost 7 per cent. The visitations were up that year, but the revenues were down. In comparison to this year, where the visitations were slightly down, the revenues were actually up and in my mind, more money and less people is a much better scenario than more people, less money."
"If the opposition were to do a more in-depth analysis of the data, they would eventually see that the visitors that "did not overnight," a group that economically contributes the least, were actually down from the previous year from 5 per cent to 2.9 per cent. This decrease alone could explain the 1.6 per cent decrease in visitations. In the past, during the novelty of the bridge opening, many visitors simply drove over and back for the experience. Now that dynamic is changing and visitors are staying," noted the Minister.
The significant reduction in visitations from Quebec have been scrutinized in many ways. The most tangible reason for such a decrease from the region is likely to be the intense marketing campaign launched by the province to keep Quebecers in province. "The in-province marketing campaign launched in Quebec last year reportedly cost something in the range of $4 to $5 million. That is almost double what our province spends on our entire marketing campaign. It had an impact."
One other area that was singled out in the criticism was the neglect of the "traditional family market." "Our ability to capture this market remains strong", noted the Minister. "The demographic of what is known as the "traditional family market" is changing and along with it goes our marketing. To see a 36 per cent visitation from this particular group is an increase over the past year and some of the demographic shift is a result of the success we are seeing in our shoulder seasons. Typically, travellers in spring and fall are not families, but couples and seniors and we are showing strong growth in this area, something that has always been a concern to the tourism industry."
"Convincing 1,270,100 people to visit Prince Edward Island and having them spend well over $300 million dollars while they are here is not something that I feel bad about," noted Minister MacAdam. "The opposition, on the other hand, might reconsider their opinion of the hard-working Islanders who design marketing campaigns and then tend to the people that do visit our Island. They work hard to convince people that Prince Edward Island is the place to be... and I agree with them."