Mill River could rival Cavendish, says Don McDougall

The man who will acquire of the Mill River attractions hopes to have a plan to review by Feb. 15 and construction underway on renovations and upgrades by March.

Don McDougall, who is purchasing the golf course, resort, fun park and campground from the province, said when it's all complete he believes it will rival Cavendish as a tourist destination.

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"Arguably we have in West Prince what you have at Cavendish, except it's all in one place," he said Friday on CBC News: Compass.

He said the golf course is one of the top five on P.E.I. and doesn't need much improvement.

But the rest, he admitted, will take a lot of work and money.

"The place is tired, and we accept that," he said. "And we wouldn't put our hands on it if we weren't prepared to move forward with an investment to change that and modernize it."

The place is tired, and we accept that. And we wouldn't put our hands on it if we weren't prepared to move forward with an investment to change that and modernize it.– Don McDougall

The government, which owned the golf course, campground and fun park, bought the resort from Rodd Hotels so it could sell the attractions as a package to McDougall.

"We'd like to see people think of it as a destination," said McDougall, who plans to make it a year-round operation.

"It's not very well appreciated the diversity and the immensity of the offering that we have at Mill River."

McDougall, who grew up in nearby Bloomfield, is no stranger to the tourism industry. He owned Woodleigh Replicas for 10 years.

He believes the timing is right to take over Mill River.

"I see tremendous potential in the tourism business and in the area," he said. "Tourism in P.E.I. has been on the uptake and I think it will continue to be so."

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