“The numbers are going to be devastating,” PEI Tourism Minister Matthew MacKay said. “I can’t think of a touristic sector on the island that has not been affected.”
The strain on tourism resulting from the outbreak gives business owners little choice but to temporarily close shop. Restaurateur Dave Hyndman is considering shuttering Dave’s Lobster Rolls for the summer. The seafood specialty restaurant has locations in Cavendish and Charlottetown, PEI’s top two travel destinations.
Tourism creates 15,000 to 17,000 jobs in the province, many primarily summer positions. Figures for March, the latest available, show an unemployment rate of 8.6 per cent, or 7,400 persons, for PEI. But those numbers cover only 16 days under the state of emergency. The Department of Finance reported in April that the effect of COVID-19 on employment could peak at 20,200 job losses in May.
The vessels carry 49 passengers and are considered large cruise ships by Transport Canada, which makes them banned from operating until July 1 at the earliest. Operator Joanne Carney hired her summer staff in January, and may be forced to introduce layoffs and reduced hours.
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