Banner tourism year for parts of Shelburne County

By Kathy Johnson

THE COAST GUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

It’s shaping up to be a banner year for tourism in parts of Shelburne County.

By most accounts the number of visitors to the county so far this summer has increased compared to last year.

In Shelburne, Dock Street is teaming with tourists most days and motels have been filled most nights.

“We haven’t seen much of a decline in tourists,” said Sandra Downey, who, along with her husband Jim Goodick owns MacKenzie’s Motel and Cottages.

With Founder’s Days, the 225th anniversary Loyalist celebrations, weddings and golf tournaments, “We’ve been staying full,” said Downey. “There’s been something almost every weekend.”

According to statistics from the Shelburne Visitor Information Centre (VIC), 2,564 tourists signed the guest book in July, compared to 1,652 for the same time period as last year.

“We’ve been getting the lions’ share of tourists,” said Sea Dog Salon owner Allan Reid. “Tourism is one of the few industries that have shown growth this year.”

Reid added suppliers to his establishment have noted that Shelburne “is one of the few places that is seeing an increase in traffic.”

Having another signature event such as the Loyalist Landing celebration has certainly helped the tourism industry in the county, said Reid, noting that local residents really got into the spirit of the celebration.

“Hopefully we can see this evolve into an annual event so we’re not just relying on Founder’s Days,” he said. “But it’s going to take a lot more community involvement to make that happen.”

Crescent Beach Centre in Lockeport was also busy in July, with just over 1,800 visitors to the centre.

“There’s been a pretty steady flow of tourists,” said VIC manager Kim Traff.

“It’s been a very good summer for us again,” said Bill Crosby, owner/operator of Ocean Mist Cottages.

Although May and June “were a little slow, we were 100 per cent occupied in July,” said Crosby. “August should be the same if all goes well.”

Crosby said the Lockeport Loop initiative “has worked well” for tourism operators in the area, with everyone working together as one major group.

Meanwhile at the Barrington VIC, statistics show an overall increase of nine percent in the number of visitors so far this year.

It’s looking a lot better than it was,” said Diane Smith Barrington VIC manager. “The first of the season was so-so. July was better.”

As of July 31, 1,937 tourists had visited the Barrington VIC, compared to 1721 in 2007.

However, “There’s not a lot of people staying in the area,” noted Smith. “They already have reservations somewhere else. Most visitors to the centre have been looking for places to eat, beaches to see and things to do in the area.”

Cape Sable Island Cottages’ owner/operator Nancy Jones said although they are not as busy as last year, the numbers are not down drastically. “There just doesn’t seem to be the number of tourists in the area this year,” she said.

“It’s been slow,” said Clark’s Harbour VIC manager Bonnie Symonds, noting the number of American visitors are “down quite a bit from last year,” which is true for most areas.

Those that do visit Cape Sable Island “love it here,” said Symonds. “It’s like heaven to them.”

Visitors to the island bureau have also been showing an interest in the large number of properties for sale on the island, said Symonds, with almost all the brochures from a local real estate company picked up by visitors.