“Increased convention business and major events like East Coast Music Week made a significant contribution to overall visitation,” said Minister Henderson. “These are very encouraging numbers so early in the year, and when you combine them with the increases we’re seeing in reservations and web traffic, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic about the 2014 tourism season.”

During the month of April, traffic on the Confederation Bridge was up by 11.4 percent and the number of room nights sold was up by 14.9 percent. The total number of delegates who attended meetings on the Island was up close to 1,500 compared to last April, an increase of close to 300 percent.

Year-to-date bridge traffic is up 3.8 percent and total room nights sold is up 5.2 percent.

“These early numbers are very encouraging, especially the large increase in convention delegates compared to last April,” said John-Anthony Langdale, Chair of the Tourism Advisory Council (TAC). “Meetings and Conventions are a key pillar of our tourism strategy and all signs point to a banner year for that sector of the industry in 2014 with major increases in booked conventions compared to 2013.”

“Events like East Coast Music Week, and major increases in convention business have a significant impact on our membership, and we are very pleased with the results in April,” said Kevin Murphy, Chair of the Hotel Motel Association of Prince Edward Island. “We are also very optimistic about the summer. Our members are reporting increases of between 15 and 20 percent in terms of pre-bookings compared to this time last year.”

The tourist industry accounts for more than 7,000 full-time equivalent jobs and approximately $380 million in economic activity each year. It contributes seven percent of the provincial GDP, the highest percentage of all provinces in Canada.