P.E.I. reports record tourism in July

July topped a record for overnight stays on P.E.I., says Tourism Minister Heath MacDonald.

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"Early indicators for August also look promising," MacDonald said in a news release.

The strong performance comes after a good June and a record season in 2015.

The regular tourism indicators report shows a total of 253,159 overnight stays, an increase of 11.2 per cent over last July. That includes both campgrounds and room rentals, such as hotels, B&Bs and cottages.

The growth is divided roughly evenly between campsites and rooms. In 2015 much of the growth was driven by campers.

The numbers show the new visitors favoured Confederation Bridge, which saw a 12.5 per cent increase in traffic.

Need for ferry service

Ferry traffic was down significantly 14.5 per cent probably because the Holiday Island has been out of service all season, and Northumberland Ferries has been operating just one ferry instead of the regular two.

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The province noted tourism in eastern P.E.I. is growing faster than in the province as a whole, and said this points for the need to secure a second ferry to connect the Island to Nova Scotia.

Occupancy rates for room rentals were over 80 per cent in Charlottetown and Green Gables Shore, and 65 to 70 per cent in the rest of the province.

Total overnight stays for January to July are up 12.2 per cent over last year.

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