$300K in federal funding announced to support P.E.I. tourism industry
Federal Minister of Tourism Randy Boissonnault was on Prince Edward Island Thursday to announce $327,000 in support for four projects through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
"We got your backs and we want you to go from survival to revival," said Boissonnault.
"We literally want to now move into the growth of the tourism sector."
The funding was provided as part of the federal government's Tourism Relief Fund, which was first set up in the summer of 2021 to help tourism operators adapt to public health requirements, and to help with recovery from pandemic losses.
The funding includes $100,000 each for:
the Fiddling Fisherman Lookout for renovations to allow it to be a year-round venue.
Dalvay-by-the-Sea for new recreational equipment.
the Anne and Gilbert production for further development of the Island Theatre Festival.
Laughing Lighthouse Rentals also received move than $27,000 to install a solar array and winterize its facilities.
Boissonnault said he hopes to see Island tourism operators deal with the impacts of post-tropical storm Fiona, and build back stronger than before.
"We're gonna make sure that Prince Edward Island fully recovers from Fiona, and that includes the parks, the trails," he said.
"The world loves P.E.I. and we want to make sure that P.E.I. is ready for summer '23."
Earlier this month, the province released its tourism indicators report for August. There were 271,080 total overnight stays that month — a number slightly lower than the record number of stays recorded in August 2019, but back in the range of visits seen in 2017 and 2018.
