CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - So far this year, P.E.I.’s tourism numbers are showing some interesting trends, especially with lower accommodation numbers while visitor traffic is nearly on par or better compared to last year.
“Somebody is trying to reconcile the fact that visitors to P.E.I. are up and accommodations levels are down,” said Don McDougall, owner of Mill River Resort in Bloomfield.
“Our food and beverage numbers are up – a lot more than our occupancy (and) activity at the golf courses (and other amenities) are way up. So, people are coming from somewhere.”
According to August’s monthly tourism numbers recently released by the province, room nights sold at fixed-roof accommodations on P.E.I. (compared to last year) was down 2.2 per cent (year-to-date) and the occupancy rate was down 2.3 per cent. In Charlottetown, the occupancy rate declined further to (minus) 2.7 per cent while room nights sold was only down 1.1 per cent.
Traffic year-to-date (compared to 2017 year-to-date)
- Bridge 0.7 %
- Air -0.1 %
- Ferry 2.6 %
- Cruise -0.5 %
- Motor coach -4 %
In a press release, Chris Palmer, minister of economic development and tourism, noted that bridge traffic is up 0.7 per cent compared to last year’s record numbers while ferry traffic was also up 2.6 per cent. Cruise ship numbers were down 0.5 per cent as was motor coach (minus four per cent) and air traffic (minus 0.1 per cent).
Palmer added that 2017 was the fourth-straight year for record numbers in tourism, especially since last year was Canada 150 celebrations.
But despite the visitor traffic this year to the Island, overnight stays were down 1.8 per cent.
“This is something staff in Tourism P.E.I. will be examining over the coming months,” Palmer said in the release. “We’d like to know why we are seeing slightly fewer overnight stays while our entry points remain strong. It could indicate shorter average length of stay, smaller party sizes, or other factors.”
McDougall said business at the resort has been okay this year, especially considering major renovations were only completed in June.
He said that revenue and occupancy (in the latter part of the summer) were both up, but for the year “not so much.”
In terms of interpreting the accommodation numbers compared to visitor traffic, McDougall said that the activity of Airbnb and Airbnb-like properties needs to be looked at more thoroughly.
He also questions the argument that people are staying fewer nights.
“I realize that in order to make the numbers work, that’s what the rationale is,” he said.
Fixed-roof accommodations
P.E.I.
Year to date August
Room nights sold
-2.2 % -3.1 %
Occupancy rate
-2.3 % -3.7 %
Charlottetown
Room nights sold
-1.1 % -1.2 %
Occupancy rate
-2.7 % -5 %
McDougall’s theory is that the discrepancy between the number of visitors to P.E.I. and a decrease in occupancy rates is that people are also staying at unregistered accommodations, which is not being reflected in the numbers.
“I don’t know where they show up? I don’t think they show up anywhere,” he said.
Some of those accommodations are made available by people staying at the cottage for the summer and renting out their home in the city, he said.
“In our area, there would be a lot more Airbnb-type accommodations than there is hotel accommodations,” he said.
In July, the province issued a public advisory reminding Airbnb operators that they need to be licensed. The province also has a website that lists licensed accommodations in good standing as well as those that have stopped operating and have had their licenses revoked.
Kevin Mouflier, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I., said the province has done a good job finding, documenting and notifying unregistered accommodations about their situation.
“Our licensing has gone up 30 per cent this year specifically because of it,” he said.
But Mouflier said the municipalities need to do a better job with implementing rules and regulations regarding unregistered accommodations.
In terms of the numbers, Mouflier said the province had seen four years of tourism growth, including last year’s “banner year.”
“We increased for so many years and then you kind of flattened off. So, if we make our 2016 numbers, I think we should be pleased with that.”
Mixed results for Parks Canada sites
Visitation at the P.E.I. National Park and Green Gables Heritage Place went in opposite directions this past summer.
According to August’s monthly tourism numbers released by the province, Green Gables had a decline in visitors by 22.3 per cent, whereas the P.E.I. National Park saw attendance increase by 17.9 per cent.
Ocel Dauphinais-Matheson, national historic sites and visitor experience manager for Parks Canada on P.E.I., explained that both areas had free admission last year, but Green Gables is a different experience in that people tend to only visit once a year or once every couple of years.
By comparison, on hot summer days, people were more likely to visit the park’s beaches more than once, he said.
But even though visitation was down at Green Gables this year, it has been increasing since 2013, including an increase this year by about three per cent compared to 2016, he said.
Green Gables was also undergoing the final phase of a $9.5-million site development construction with new exhibits, a new visitor centre, new food service, redesigned parking lot and a gift shop expected to be ready for next year.
Even though Green Gables remained open during the work, Dauphinais-Matheson said that the work did have an impact on visitation.
Especially with a new visitation centre, he expects attendance to climb as a result of the redevelopment.
“It’s going to be a full, new experience for visitors. So, I think that will be a big draw.”
Parks Canada
Year-to-date (compared to 2017) August (compared to August 2016)
P.E.I. National Park 17.9 % 11.6 %
Green Gables -22.6 % -23.8 %
