P.E.I. tourism enjoying 'incredible summer'

Tourism businesses on P.E.I. are enjoying an "incredible summer," says the executive director of Discover Charlottetown.

"We are getting more phone calls and visitor inquiries, more web traffic, more of everything," Heidi Zinn said in a news release.

• P.E.I. reports record tourism in July

Almost 25,000 more rooms have been sold in Charlottetown so far this year over last year, she said. July alone is up more than 4,000 room nights.

Discover Charlottetown, a not-for-profit responsible for promoting the city to off-Island travellers, has seen its website traffic increase 20 per cent over last year, Zinn said. Guide requests and downloads have seen similar increases, up 17 per cent. The organization has also seen a rise in package bookings, engagement with newsletters and social media interaction.

As an industry, we should be really really proud.- Lee Drake

Lee Drake, chairman of Discover Charlottetown, said a summer of good weather, the legacy of 2014 marketing, the low Canadian dollar, big events, and a strong year for meetings, conventions and sporting events have all contributed to the successful tourism season.

"As an industry, we should be really really proud," he said.

Craig Jones, chairman of the Hotel Association of PEI, said he expects the positive trend to continue for the rest of the year.

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