Campers help spur July tourism record
Many P.E.I. residents have over extended themselves with credit
Cornwall KOA Campground manager Donna Sentner says she’s just starting to catch her breath after a busy July for P.E.I. tourism.
She’s not alone. According to figures released Friday by the provincial government, campgrounds across the province saw almost 124,000 campsite nights sold during the month, an increase of 12.2 per cent compared to July 2016.
“The great weather in July, the relatively low Canadian dollar, the Canada 150 celebrations and the incredible product we provide visitors to our Island made this a banner year at our facility,” said Sentner. “Canadians stayed in Canada this year and we benefited from that.”
The strong camping numbers helped overnight stays increase by 5.3 per cent over July last year.
The Confederation Bridge and Charlottetown Airport also set new July records – with increases of 2.5 and 9.9 per cent, respectively – compared to last July. Northumberland Ferries posted a 26.9 per cent gain after mechanical issues in 2016 reduced the number of daily crossings.
Although golf rounds were down 4.9 per cent, P.E.I. National Park and Green Gables Heritage Place both posted large increases over last season — 53.8 and 37.9 per cent, respectively. Island Heritage sites also saw an increase of 11.8 per cent in visitation.
With events like Fall Flavours, the P.E.I. International Shellfish Festival and a stream of meetings and conventions through September and October, the province is optimistic the trend will continue into fall.
To view the July indicator report, visit: https://www. princeed wardisland.ca/sites/ default/files/publications/current_monthly_indicators_0.pdf.
Islanders concerned about the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike can take steps to secure their finances, says a local insolvency trustee.
The Bank of Canada has raised its key interest rate by another quarter of a percentage point earlier this week, up to one per cent from 0.75 per cent. Economists predict that the decision could be just the second in a string of rate increases to come.
“Anyone who has been relying on low interest rates to keep afloat, may be in trouble very quickly,” says Walter MacKinnon, a licenced insolvency trustee with MNP Ltd. in Charlottetown.
Whether debts include mortgages, consumer loans, lines of credit, car loans, or credit cards, MacKinnon says that many P.E.I. residents have over extended themselves and will simply be unable to keep up with their minimum monthly payments if rates continue to rise.
MacKinnon suggests the following advice to help indebted P.E.I. residents prepare for rising interest rates:
- Start with some simple calculations and set a budget. Compare monthly disposable income to monthly debt payments, an ensure that if interest rates continue to climb, there will still be funds available to pay off those debts, including any new debts.
- Take a look at your total spending for the last year to create a budget for next year at higher interest rates.
- Focus on paying down the principal now. Despite the low interest rates for years, many haven’t worked away at their debts. But with the threat of more rate increases to come, it’s time to focus on paying down principal. By paying a lump sum on the principal on debts now, the interest payments in the future can be lower, even if rates do rise.
- Pull back on big ticket purchases. In recent years many P.E.I. residents have taken advantage of low interest rates purchasing cars, appliances, furniture and more on credit.
- Anyone with this kind of debt will be vulnerable to rate hikes. It’s time to pull back on big ticket purchases and any kind of spending on credit.
- Lock in at a low interest rate. Low rates are good news to new home buyers, and those on floating rate mortgages, but with rates now trending upward, consumers should consider locking in now.
- Seek professional advice. Start creating a realistic plan to deal with debt by seeking professional advice. This will not only help resolve financial difficulties sooner, but it will make the process less stressful. If you are using credit to pay for basic expenses or to service other debts, it’s a sign you need help right away. Seek advice from reputable sources.
It has always been a dream of Yvon Dubois to open his own laundromat.
“I’ve always wanted to open up a laundromat,” said Dubois, in a recent interview with The Guardian. “That was one of my business plans in college 30 some years ago.”
And recently that dream became a reality after Dubois and his business partner, Kelly Stephen, decided to open up a laudromat in Souris called Tiny Bubbles.
Stephen and Dubois, in fact own, several businesses in the community including a small inn called “The Church House Inn”, three rental apartments and a hostel.
They also work full-time with Chef Michael Smith.
“What is happening is people come in and they want to open a business and they want to make a mint and they want to retire in five years and that model doesn’t work in small P.E.I.,” said Stephen. “(The laundromat) is one of several baskets we are working on and it helps us as far as businessmen and it gives us one more thing in a sphere of things that keep us occupied and busy on P.E.I.”
Stephen and Dubois said they decided to open this business in the community because they saw it was in desperate need for one.
“This community has a large number of seasonal residents and tourists that use to utilize the laundromat when it was at the mall,” said Stephen. “When it closed, it placed the community in a bit of crisis.”
Stephen and Dubois have had numerous visitors ask them where they can wash their clothes and the closest place they could think of was Montague.
“We want tourists. We want to encourage people to come to the community and one of the utilities that we didn’t have was laundromat,” said Stephen. “Small communities like this need to have these basic necessities filled.”
And after Stephen and Dubois bought the building on 65 Main St., it seemed like the perfect opportunity to the fill a niche in the community by opening the laundromat.
“We saved it from the abyss. It had been abandoned and we bought it on a whim,” said Stephen on the historic building in the heart of the town that used to be various things including a dentist office, pharmacy and barbershop.
“When we said out loud that we were thinking of opening a laundromat, people almost wept in relief,” said Stephen.
The laundromat has six washers and six dryers and will be open year round. It will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the summer season but those hours will be reduced beginning Oct. 1.