From music festivals on P.E.I. to the North American Indigenous Games in Halifax, summer tourism is bouncing back and prices are up.
“That’s the reality of travel now,” said Corryn Clemence, the CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of PEI. “The price of accommodations, of flights — all these things, they’re starting to increase.”
Clemence said the cost of labour and supplies have crept up and when the industry sees more demand, the prices increase based on that demand.
It means travellers should expect to pay more and try to book early.
The North American Indigenous Games will bring more than 5,000 athletes to Halifax from July 15-23.
When CTV News looked up hotel options for the first weekend of the event, there were few options available for less than $250 a night.
“It’s going to be busy,” said Glenn Bowie, the General Manager of The Westin Nova Scotian. “They’re looking at hotels all over HRM. They’re looking at car rentals. It’s going to be hard to get things but it’s still months away so book early.”
The cost of renting a car is up. According to Statistics Canada, the price of renting a vehicle jumped nearly 50 per cent since 2019.
Craig Hirota, Vice President of the Associated Canadian Car Rental Operators, said prices are definitely still strong.
“It’s largely a function of reduced supply and returning demand,” Hirota said.
Hirota pointed to how the cost to insure, maintain and repair rental vehicles has also gone up. The industry has been challenged to find new vehicles.
“We still don’t have our fleet size necessarily to the same size we were pre-pandemic,” Hirota said.
A Statistics Canada study looking at car rentals in New Brunswick showed while in 2022 tourism nearly caught up to pre-pandemic levels, the rental car industry did not. It notes how many tourists turned to other options such as peer-to-peer rentals or Turo, where car owners rent their vehicles.
On P.E.I. and across the region, the tourism industry is urging people to book early.
“If you plan on coming here and are hoping to get a rental, I would try to get that booking as soon as you can,” said Clemence.
Glenn Bowie understands how prices look steeper to consumers but he also notes how labour, food and other costs are all up.
“Halifax is in a very good position right now. For many, many years, Halifax was undervalued,” Bowie said.
“You could pay two to three-star prices and stay in a four-star hotel. It sounds like that’s a wonderful thing. The challenge is that eventually those four-star hotels become two and three-star hotels because they can’t afford the upkeep,” he said.
