CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - Overnight stays in Prince Edward Island are down slightly from last year’s numbers, despite the province’s three entry points posting gains in visitor traffic.
August’s tourism indicators, released Friday, Oct. 12, show overnight stays dropped 1.8 per cent year-to-date.
“This is something staff in Tourism P.E.I. will be examining over the coming months,” Tourism Minister Chris Palmer said. “We’d like to know why we are seeing slightly fewer overnight stays while our entry points remain strong. It could indicate shorter average length of stay, smaller party sizes, or other factors.”
The Confederation Bridge is 0.7 per cent ahead of 2017’s year-to-date numbers, while Northumberland Ferries also posted gains of 2.6 per cent.
The Charlottetown Airport was down just slightly in passenger volume, with a decrease of one per cent year-to-date.
"We worked very hard with our industry partners over the past two months to attract short-haul visitation from the other Maritime provinces, and to encourage Islanders to get out and explore their Island,” said Palmer. “It appears these efforts are having the desired effect, and we are optimistic that this trend will continue into September’s results.”
2017 was the fourth-straight record year for tourism on P.E.I. and the first year the province recorded more than one million overnight stays. It also marked the Canada 150 celebrations.
The full August indicator report can be found by clicking here.
