Ridership on N.S.-Maine ferry remains lower than last year
Ridership has fallen 19% from last July to this July
Ridership on the CAT ferry service between Nova Scotia and Maine remains lower than last year.
A news release from Bay Ferries Limited, which operates the service between Yarmouth, N.S., and Bar Harbor, Maine, says there were 24,613 bookings this season as of July 8.
That's a drop of 19 per cent from last year, when there were 30,422 bookings by the same date.
The news release says a "significant" drop in Canadian bookings is the major factor in the decline. It did not indicate whether bookings from the U.S. had also dropped.
In June, the service reported a 20 per cent year-over-year drop in total bookings so far, and noted that the number of Americans taking the ferry to Nova Scotia was similar to last year.
Fred Tilley, the minister of public works, which oversees the ferry, said there's a bright side to the falling number of Canadian bookings.
"The fact that tourism to the U.S. is down is probably a good thing for Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada, and the fact that we can bring more tourists here is only positive for our economy," he said.
