Cabot Trail restaurant owners hope for record-breaking tourism season

Some restaurant owners around Cape Breton's Cabot Trail say tourism numbers are higher than normal for this time of year.

Ossama Nasrallah, the owner of Main Street Restaurant and Bakery in Ingonish, said this season is one of the best the restaurant has seen. He said revenue is up 30 per cent over last the same period year.

Main Street opened for the season in May. Nasrallah said the month started out slow because of lousy weather. Throughout June, the number of tourists he's been serving is comparable to what he would typically see in mid-July. He expects the numbers to skyrocket once school gets out.

"We're expecting to see a record-breaking July and August," he said.

Tourism season on the island usually peaks in those months.

Expanded hours for one business

Nasrallah attributed much of the increase to Canadians choosing to travel within the country. He said he's getting more Canadians than ever before.

Because of the demand, Nasrallah added a takeout window that closes at 11 p.m. AT, rather than the restaurant's usual closing hour of 8 p.m.

Glenda Ogley, the owner of The Clucking Hen Cafe and Bakery on the North Shore, welcomes the increased business, but said it's hard finding staff.

Where the customers are coming from

"We're so busy, so it's scary to think that we're not in our busy season yet," she said.

Ogley said she's seeing more Canadians, but also more Americans.

"We're getting them from all over," she said. "It's a lot."

When he first opened for the year, Nasrallah thought Americans would avoid travelling to Canada out of fear of being unwelcome. But he said for most of them, the Cabot Trail is on their bucket list.

"We're really showing them the Nova Scotian hospitality, from the second they arrive," he said.

CBC News also spoke with seven other restaurants around the trail. The owners wouldn't agree to interviews, but many said they were seeing similar increases to that of Nasrallah and Ogley.

Cabot Trail a huge draw, says tourism group

Terry Smith, the CEO of Destination Cape Breton, said Canadians have been choosing the East and West coasts for their vacations this year.

"The Cabot Trail is the No. 1 reason why people come, not only to Cape Breton Island, but to Nova Scotia," he said.

From June 20 to Sept. 2, admission is free to Parks Canada's national parks and historic sites.

"We were already probably on a path to having a really good season, but this is really going to put it into what could be, potentially, a record year," said Smith.