New year, new strategy for P.E.I. tourism

P.E.I.'s tourism industry is coming up with new strategies to build on three straight years of growth and that includes finding ways to help businesses stay open longer in the shoulder seasons.

The chief executive officer of Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I. says a common complaint fromtourists in the spring and fall is finding that some businesses are closed.

"That is a primary issue that we are looking at dealing with," said Kevin Mouflier.

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Businesses that employ students often run into staffing issues before school ends in June and when the workers head back in September, he told Angela Walker on CBC P.E.I.'sMainstreet.

But this year, the industry association has a strategy to target 55 to 64 year olds to fill in the gaps.

"That's where we need to get more interest in what the value of the tourism industry is and people to look at it as more of a career, people that may have retired and said I want to go back to work," said Mouflier.

Experiential tourism and an Island-wide coastal drive instead of three separate drives are also strategies TIAPEI is exploring, he said.

First Nations communities

There is a national focus on experiential tourism in First Nations communities, said Mouflier, and P.E.I. can tap into that market in places such as Lennox Island.

He also said a longer coastal drive might entice visitors to stay longer.

"Tip to tip we have beautiful waterfronts," he said, mentioning not only Charlottetown but Summerside, Victoria and Georgetown.

'Work together'

"When the visitor comes to P.E.I., we really have to capitalize on them seeing the whole Island. We're small, we need to all work together."

Mouflier said the industry istargeting markets in the U.S. where visitors can get more for their dollar and tourists from Quebec and Ontario who also benefit financially by staying in Canada.

More details will be released in April, he said.

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