Tourism indicators are showing mixed results for the month of April. In comparison to 2005, air traffic is up 31% and non-resident bridge traffic up 12%. However, room nights sold for the month of April has decreased by 5.9%, which is approximately 1,000 room nights.

Honourable Philip Brown, Minister of Tourism commented, “Results from January to April are still quite positive with bridge traffic up 7%, air traffic up 29% and room nights sold for the period up 5.5% or 3,600 room nights. Overall, year to date, we are pleased with the numbers, but we’re also aware that we need to impact travellers now to encourage them to chose Prince Edward Island as their 2006 vacation destination.” He added, “Marketing will focus on our popular strengths and, if we’re lucky enough to see the recent great weather continue, the trend should continue as well with growth in visitation for the summer tourism season.”

Response to the marketing campaign for the month of April was down in comparison to last year. “There are many factors that come into play when deciding on the ideal time to launch the TV, e-mail and direct mail components of the marketing campaign. The campaign has gone into the market later this year as consumers are continuing to book their vacations later and later. The response for the month of April has been down, but we must keep in mind that we are not comparing apples to apples here. In 2005 the campaign was in full swing for the month of April, in 2006 it has only just begun,” noted David MacKenzie, Co-Chair of the Tourism Advisory Council. “We are doing things differently, consumers are making last minute travel decisions and we want PEI to be top of mind for their vacation getaway in 2006.”

Tourism performance indicators are released to the public monthly and can be downloaded at www.gov.pe.ca/tourism.