Traffic up, Green Gables House and cruise numbers boom, in 'relatively strong' tourism year

The final numbers are not yet in on P.E.I.'s peak tourism season months, but those statistics that are in are pointing toward a good year that has the industry feeling bullish.

"Overall it was a relatively strong year," said Corryn Clemence, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I.

"We had started to hear maybe there was some soft spots in July, but you know, August was really a good month for us. We had a lot of activity happening in September — and some great weather, which always helps."

Traffic over the Confederation Bridge from June through September was up four per cent over 2023, and nine per cent over the pre-pandemic record year of 2019. Charlottetown Airport posted virtually identical increase rates.

Port Charlottetown blew previous records for cruise-ship visits out of the water, with 94 ships calling.

The port welcomed its last ship of the year Wednesday. The province has not posted final numbers yet, but June through September, passenger numbers were up 60 per cent compared to last year and 45 per cent over 2019. 

"Cruise has been doing a tremendous job post-COVID, really rebounding," said Clemence.

There is a sign the port may be entering a new era, doubling the number of passengers visiting in July. The strength of cruise has typically been in the spring and fall, so that kind of spread into the summer months is a big opportunity.

"To see them be able to fill those months in with ships, and some of the larger ships, is extraordinary," said Clemence

Port Charlottetown says it is far from reaching its capacity. While there have been busy days with three and even four ships in port at a time, there is still room for expansion into August in particular. The port has never actually even reached its maximum daily capacity, with the current record at four ships in a day.

"We would be able to handle five ships," said Kelly Murphy, director of cruise development for Port Charlottetown. "We have three anchorage points as well as accepting two vessels here at our main berth."

She can't confirm at this point whether there will be a five-ship day in 2025.

Murphy noted that the visit of the first cruise ship for 2024, back on April 8, was the earliest ever. She credited tourism operators for opening early in the year and staying open late to keep cruise passengers happy.

Celebrating an anniversary

This was the 150th anniversary year of the birth of Lucy Maud Montgomery, and Parks Canada said marking that event was part of a banner year at Green Gable Heritage Place.

"We welcomed 175,000 visitors this year, an increase of 11 per cent compared to last year," said visitor experience manager Janette Gallant, speaking in French to Radio-Canada. "This season is a success."

The record year for cruise-ship passengers, many of whom hopped on a bus to visit Green Gables House, also contributed to the big year at the historic site, said Gallant.

Fine weather contributed to a busy year at P.E.I. National Park, said officials, with a five per cent increase in visitors and a 2.5 per cent increase in overnights at the park's campgrounds.

Dining out on the rise

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada also posted sales figures for restaurants this week.

They show a small increase in sales over last year, a growth that would be eaten up by inflation. But there is a large increase over the pre-pandemic traffic in 2019, with sales rising 37 per cent, well above the 27 per cent inflation for restaurant meals in the same five years.

Despite the growth in the last five years, success in the P.E.I. restaurant business remains challenging, said Clemence, because the number of food and beverage licences is up about 35 per cent since 2019.

"Competition is up. Some operators have told us they're having a really good year; others are soft," she said.

Consumers are also shifting back to dining in, following a rapid move to takeout and delivery when the pandemic hit.

The pandemic really thrust that change upon us in a lot of ways. Now it seems to be maybe more of a regular situation.— Corryn Clemence, Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I.

From May to August in 2019, just under half of restaurant sales on P.E.I. were classified as limited service — largely takeout and delivery as well as counter service. In those months in 2020, that category jumped to over 60 per cent of sales. Full service has mostly recovered, but in 2024, full service still represented less than 50 per cent of sales.

"The pandemic really thrust that change upon us in a lot of ways. Now it seems to be maybe more of a regular situation," said Clemence, adding it is difficult to know at this point if full service will ever represent the majority of sales again.

"These are things that certainly our industry is looking at and trying to adapt to as best they can."

The success of a tourist season on P.E.I. is typically measured in overnight stays, the number of nights visitors booked into hotels, inns, B&Bs and campsites.

The province has not yet posted those results for summer. The latest numbers are for June, and they show overnight stays were down one per cent for the first six months of the year compared to the same period a year earlier.