The number of visitors to Prince Edward Island increased in September, says Tourism and Culture Minister Robert Henderson.
“Tourism is a vibrant industry in Prince Edward Island, employing thousands of Islanders and injecting millions of dollars into our local economy,” said the minister. “Working in partnership with industry, our government’s efforts to extend our tourism season through events such as the Fall Flavours Festival are ensuring tourism remains a key economic driver for our province.”
Traffic into Prince Edward Island increased across the board in September. Bridge traffic increased 4.1 per cent, air traffic increased 1.1 per cent and ferry traffic increased 7.2 per cent. Overnight stays also increased by 3.4 per cent.
Record-high gas prices, economic uncertainty and poor weather presented challenges for the tourism industry across the country this summer. Year-to-date figures for September show cruise ship traffic increased 9.7 per cent while motor coach traffic increased 12.8 per cent. Bridge traffic decreased 8.2 per cent, while air traffic decreased 2.6 per cent and ferry traffic decreased 6.9 per cent. Overnight stays decreased 2.7 per cent year to date.
The Tourism Advisory Council has been working with the department on the annual tourism plan for 2012.
“In the last couple of months, we have been reviewing the season performance and have been able to examine the target market performance and trends,” said John-Anthony Langdale, chairman of TAC. “This information is guiding the development of the annual tourism plan and will work in tandem with Strategy 2015 to ensure that the tactics for next year are focused on our best potential for tourism industry growth and our key demand generators of culinary, coastal, culture, golf, and meetings and conventions.”
“Although Prince Edward Island is not immune to these national challenges, the province’s tourism industry remains strong, creating thousands of jobs and revenues that are reinvested in services for Islanders, such as health care and education,” said the minister. “We will use this information in planning for 2012 and continue to work with our partners to grow this important industry.”
The Department of Tourism and Culture works with the tourism industry in collecting data for monthly tourism reports. A compliancy rate of 95 per cent must be met by Island tourism operators before monthly reports can be made available for distribution.
The full report is available at www.peitac.com or www.gov.pe.ca/tourism.