Hospitality industry ramps up marketing, operations amid mounting optimism for summer tourist season

P.E.I.'s hospitality industry is growing increasingly more confident this year's summer season will be much better for tourism than the last.

Some business owners are ramping up their operations ahead of the key summer months, as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease under the province's three-step plan.

The timeline is much-needed relief for the tourism industry, which has seen revenues drop from $387 millionin 2019 to$283 million last year.

"Really talking to operators, there seems to be a sense of optimism that ... we could reach 2019 levels within our region," said Adam MacLennan, executive director of theNorth Cape Coastal Tourism Area Partnership.

"Hopefully, we're on our way out and moving forward, and our season and our industry come back stronger than ever."

Marketing mobilization

As a result of those expectations, tourism operators are ramping up their efforts to attract visitors to the Island.

The province will be spending $5 million on marketing initiatives this year, up by a million dollars compared to previous years.

The ad campaigns will be targeting the Island's traditional markets in the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta.

"We're forging forward, and saying the marketing plan is going ahead, because all the signs are there that we are going to be having a fabulous season," said Brenda Gallant, marketing director for Tourism P.E.I.

"However, we do know that we have to be ready to pull back if that's what's happening."

At Discover Charlottetown, the marketing ramp-up is also going ahead. But executive director Heidi Zinn said this year's campaigns will reflect a sense of "cautious optimism."

"We're putting our travel guide out right now," she said. "[There] you'll find things we say like, 'Hey folks, we're hoping for the best this year but we don't really know what this is going to look like, so make sure you check the website to make sure this event is going ahead.'"

Restaurants seeking to expand

The food services industry is also getting ready for a boost in activity. Some businesses are even looking to expand.

Jared Murphy, the co-owner of Lone Oak Brewing Co. in Borden-Carleton, said communications from the Chief Public Health Office as well as trends across the world make him feel confident the pandemic situation on the Island is now under control.

"Obviously we're not alone in being optimistic and hopeful, because I believe there is four to five restaurants opening in the Charlottetown area this spring," he said.

Murphy, who opened Lone Oak's first location only a couple of months before the pandemic began, is now working to get a second location at Charlottetown's Creamery Boardwalk ready for the spring, counting on a strong summer.

"Our timing is going to be a little better than our first opening now that we can see an end to this pandemic and hopefully have the tourist flow back into P.E.I.," he said.

"It's been up and down ... [the hope is] that if we can survive a pandemic, that hopefully things are looking good."