“It’s still very early in the season to draw any conclusions, as the next few months can typically be busy ones for the tourism industry,” said Chris Jones, Tourism PEI Director of Strategy, Evaluation and Industry Investment. “We are not alone in our challenges, as the tourism industry across Canada is facing similar situations at the moment. We remain cautiously optimistic; with all the activities, festivals and events in the upcoming months, PEI will continue to attract visitation.”

A sample of the Tourism Performance Indicators:

• Bridge traffic up 0.7% for June - YTD up 6%

• Airport traffic down 10% for June - YTD up 1%

• Ferry traffic up 2% for June - down 0.4% YTD

• Room-nights-sold in June down 13.6% - down 1.1% YTD

• Room-nights-sold to Ontario up 7.2% in June - up 15.2% YTD

• Room-nights-sold to Nova Scotia down 15.5% in June - down 6.2% YTD

• Room-nights-sold to US down 5.1% in June - down 0.7% YTD

• Room-nights-sold to Quebec down 3.2% in June - up 5.3% YTD

• Room-nights-sold to New Brunswick down 8.5% in June - down 2.3% YTD

• Room-nights-sold to cottages and cabins up 1.5% in June - up 2.9% YTD

• Room-nights-sold to Bed & Breakfasts up 7.7% in June - up 12% YTD

Kevin Murphy, Chair of the Tourism Advisory Council of PEI commented,“While we are concerned to see the drop of 13.6% for June room-nights-sold as compared with last year, it is important to recognize the external factors at play and to note that June represents about 11% of our annual room nights sold in this province. July, August and September are top performers historically, contributing approximately 22%, 24% and 13% of the annual business, respectively,” he added.

Operators are reminded that the deadline for the next filing is August 10th for July occupancy report numbers.

To access the latest tourism indicators, please visit www.peitac.com or www.gov.pe.ca/tourism.