Saint John tourism grows after N.S. ferry cut

The closure of a high-speed ferry in Yarmouth, N.S., is turning into a boon for tourism in Saint John.

The ferry, known as the Cat, ran from Bar Harbor, Me., to Yarmouth was cancelled late last year and the fallout has been an unexpected jump inU.S. touristsvisiting Saint John.

It has also been a real boost for the Princess of Acadiaferry, which travels between Saint John and Digby, N.S.

Cathy McConchie and her husband Gerry are among many American travellers who had not expected their summer vacation would bring them anywhere near New Brunswick.

"We went to Bar Harbor. We made all the reservations online and I looked up the Cat because I knew it was at Bar Harbour and then when I saw it wasn't running I looked for the next ferry," McConchie said.

Jean Hewick is travelling to Nova Scotia from Albany, N.Y.,andalso said the high-speed ferry's cancellation rerouted her plans through New Brunswick.

"I knew that there was a ferry from Bar Harbor and that was my original plan. And when I went online to book my ferry there was no ferry from Bar Harbor and I was quite disappointed," Hewick said.

"So we had to drive much further to Saint John."

Service cut

The high-speed Catamaran ferry service in Yarmouth was cancelled in December 2009 after the Nova Scotia government refused to continue subsidies to sustain the ferry service. The ferry's final voyage came in April.

Bay Ferries Ltd. wanted at least $6 million from the government in 2010 to keep the Cat ferry running between Yarmouth and the Maine cities of Bar Harbor and Portland.

The ferry between Yarmouth and Maine began in 1997. The Nova Scotia government had given $18.9 million to the ferry service since the fall of 2007.

Bay Ferries also owns the Digby ferry service.

Although the Digby ferry traffic is seeing an increase this year, it too has been reliant on government funding to stay afloat.

In 2008, the New Brunswick andNova Scotia governments paid $2 million each to help with Bay Ferries' operating costs, while the federal government put in $11.1 million.

The three governments also cobbled together $8 million in 2006 after Bay Ferries threatened tohalt its run because of rising costs and declining ferry traffic.

Ferry traffic up

The spike in U.S. tourist traffic may be attributable to the fact that people trying to book the Cat online in Bar Harbor are automatically forwarded to the Digby ferry in Saint John.

A spokesman for Bay Ferries says traffic on the Princess of Acadia has grown in excess of 25 per cent over the past year.

Bay Ferries is adding three additional crossings weekly to the Princess of Acadia's fall schedule.

That spike in tourist traffic comes as no surprise to some Saint John bed and breakfast owners, such asWilla Mavis of Inn on the Cove, who have seen the number of American visitorsrise.

"All the American ferry travellers we spoke to overnighted in the city before boarding the Princess of Acadia," Mavis said.