Another record year for tourism expected

P.E.I.’s tourism industry continues to shine as another record year of tourist visits is expected for the sixth straight season.

Tourism P.E.I. released the numbers Tuesday, and the preliminary estimates project 1.6 million visitors to the province in 2019. Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I. CEO Kevin Mouflier said the numbers keep moving in a positive direction.

“The people are coming, and the numbers continue to be strong,” he said.

Those numbers show year-todate, as of September, that the number of overnight stays in P.E.I. is up 1.6 per cent compared to last year.

The latest numbers show P.E.I. is on track to reach a new record for overnight stays.

In total, there were 605,721 room-nights sold in fixedroof accommodations as of September, which was an increase of 3.6 per cent over 2018.

Campground stays were down 1.9 per cent.

With the growing number of visitors, traffic at some of the points of entry was also up, including a 3.3 per cent increase at the Charlottetown Airport and a 1.6 per cent increase on the Confederation Bridge.

Those increases didn’t carry over to Northumberland Ferries, which saw a 3.3 per cent decrease.

Charlottetown also benefited from a jump in cruise ship traffic, which increased by 23.8 per cent.

Visitations to some sites around the province were also up, including P.E.I. National Park which saw a 14.1 per cent increase over 2018 as more than 781,000 people visited the park.

Provincial heritage sites were also busier with each of them seeing an increase compared to last year.

One thing Mouflier said contributed to the growth was tourism operators and entrepreneurs

working together to grow experiential tourism.

Mouflier said that has been doing a lot of good for the Island.

“Generally, we’ve had a really good year so far,” he said.

All of those tourists mean money coming into the province, and Tourism P.E.I. said it projects the visitors for 2019 will mean direct spending of about $505 million.

Mouflier said the province is working on developing its next tourism strategy as it looks to continue the growth it has been seeing.

“That’s planning for the future and being very proactive in doing so,” he said.

One area where the industry is working to grow is in the early part of the season, which has seen some success with events like a beer festival, Mouflier said.

“That will be a continual focus.”