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Booming business: Cape Breton Island tourism making up for lost time

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SYDNEY, N.S. -

With the summer season sailing by, tourism operators in Cape Breton are cashing in.

After the COVID-19 pandemic plagued the past few years, people are travelling again and businesses on the island are busier than ever.

“It really started picking up for us this month. We really started to see a large amount of tourists coming through the gates,” said Martin Kejval, project manager for Cape Smokey Holding Ltd.

This is the first summer in business for the revamped Cape Smokey grounds. The newest attraction is a gondola, which allows visitors to experience breathtaking views.

“This month, we really started to see a big shift in the clientele. We see much more people from Ontario, Quebec, and we do see a fair bit of Americans as well,” said Kejval.

The Celtic Colours International Music Festival, which attracts thousands to the island, is also seeing a rapid response.

Tickets went on sale last week and some shows are already sold out.

“We're really excited to see lots of interest locally, but we've been getting tons of calls internationally,” said Leanne Birmingham-Beddow, Celtic Colours CEO.

The October event will return with in-person shows for the first time in two years.

Birmingham-Beddow says if the summer season is any indication, they're in for a successful festival.

“I've been out to see our hotel partners and they are all having a very busy summer. I heard from a couple in Baddeck and they're over sold for October. We actually sold out several of our concerts in the first day,” she said.

Destination Cape Breton CEO Terry Smith says numbers show a return to pre-pandemic sales.

“A lot of the experts were predicting that there was a lot of pent up demand and pent up savings, so even higher gas prices weren't keeping people from travelling, so that's really good to see,” said Smith.

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