New accommodation licences for vacation rentals increase this summer

The number of new accommodation licenses has increased compared to this time last year, according to the province's tourism statistics released on Thursday.

The province said the increase is likely due to more homeowners renting their properties out through services like VRBO and Airbnb.

Besides the 201 new accommodation licenses issued so far this year [as of May], other tourism areas that increased include 3.4 per cent for bridge traffic from non-residents, 4.6 per cent in overnight stays and 3.8 per cent in room nights sold.

Also increasing were inquiries to Tourism P.E.I.'s website a 19 per cent increase for English inquiries and 40.2 per cent for French inquiries.

Areas that showed a decline were ferry service by 16.1 per cent and golf for non-members by 17.6 per cent.

The province says tourism contributes more than 7,700 direct jobs and $430 million to the economy.

A list of the province's tourism indicators can be found on its website.

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