All P.E.I. fixed-roof accommodations full last weekend
All licensed hotels, motels, cottages and B&Bs in P.E.I. were full this past weekend, according to the province.
It's the first time in at least a decade that roofed accommodations available for nightly booking were full, said the province in a news release.
"Between the Rock the Boat Festival in Tyne Valley, the Women's Under 21 Fast Pitch Tournament in Summerside, a major soccer tournament in Hunter River, amazing weather and a long weekend, we ended up with the perfect storm," said Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Heath MacDonald.
The province tried its best to help those who wanted a room, but Visitor Information Centre staff using Book PEI, the province's central reservation service, "exhausted all possibilities in terms of licensed accommodations," he said.
Staff also carefully monitored cancellations and searched the classified website Kijiji.
MacDonald says that although he was disappointed the province couldn't find a room for everyone, he's "ecstatic" about the number of people who visited P.E.I. on the weekend.
Typically the August long weekend is one of the season's busiest on P.E.I., but it's been many years since people were turned away, according to the Province.
"After speaking with operators and touring the Island over the last couple of weeks, I'm happy to say this is no real surprise," said Don Cudmore, the executive director of the Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island.
