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'A lot of uncertainty out there' in tourism industry

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NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. -

The terminal at Marine Atlantic in North Sydney wasn't very busy Wednesday afternoon.

A surprise for a service that has seen a spike in bookings since the return of the Atlantic Bubble was announced.

"The biggest impact that our reservation team is seeing are people who are having difficulties getting through New Brunswick and the boarder," says Darrell Mercer, communications director for Marine Atlantic. "We are seeing some cancellations and obviously that's having an impact on people's travel plans."

Mercer says passenger traffic will really started to pick up here during July and August, but he says right now goods and services en route to Newfoundland are delayed.

"Any traffic that's coming through New Brunswick that's destined for our ferry would have to go through that same entry point, so I know authorities are working with protesters and hopefully they'll find a resolution very soon."

Destination Cape Breton CEO Terry Smith says tourism operators are once again taking a direct hit in the pocket book.

"There is just a lot of uncertainty out there in the industry," says Smith. "We are hearing there are a lot of cancellations that operators are receiving, so that's a major concern."

Smith says he's hoping Nova Scotia's Premier will step in and come up with a solution to allow traffic to flow again.

"Having last minute surprises when people already have travel plans in place and bookings, just plays havoc with the industry."

With traffic stalled and restrictions in place, Smith feels a partial bubble is not a big boost for a struggling industry.

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