Tourism Industry Association expected better July numbers
Don Cudmore of TIAPEI says July tourism numbers good, but could be better
The executive director of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I. was hoping the July tourism numbers released by the province would be a little higher.
The numbers show a 3.6 per cent increase in total overnight stays in July compared to the same month in 2013, with a year to date increase of 4.0 per cent.
Don Cudmore said while there were some markets the association was pleased with, he would have liked to have seen the overall numbers a little better than they are.
"I know that operators are telling us the first part of July seemed to be a little bit slow and that picked up towards the end," said Cudmore. "I know that August has been a booming month and so hopefully that will help to pick it up."
"In this day and age, they are relatively good. I know that we spent quite a bit of additional dollars in marketing because of the 2014 celebrations.
"There are some operators telling us that they have not had a banner year. And there are others that have had a real banner year. I mean we've got restaurants around the province, not only in Charlottetown that are just having their best year ever. But accommodations are spotty."
Cudmore said the industry certainly appreciated the additional money committed to tourism by the province and the federal government.
He said the key for the association when the evaluation of the year is done is whether a convincing case has been made that tourism is a good investment and that more money in marketing will drive numbers.