SHEDIAC CAPE, N.B. -- Cottage season is just around the corner, but reservations have come to a halt for many and cancellations have begun over COVID-19 concerns.
"I think some are waiting it out because they're not calling all at once," said cottage manager Saunya Leblanc."But I'm slowly seeing, as each day goes by, that people are cancelling. Just for example, I had five to six cancellations just in the last two days."
Leblanc's cottages usually begin to fill up during the long weekend in May because they're a short drive for visitors to hot spots like Parlee Beach, Cap Pele, and the village of Alma.
Owners in Alma are also feeling the effects. The Holy Whale Brewery was a popular destination for tourists passing through to Fundy National Park.
"We relied heavily on pint sales, a lot of hikers and bikers and snowshoers in the winter time," says co-owner Jeff Grandy.
All national parks, including Fundy, will remain suspended until at least May 31.
It's a big blow to the tourist town, which relies heavily on tourism, says Grandy.
"A lot of businesses do open on the May long weekend, and without the park being open, it definitely will have an effect and everybody will feel that."
While plans are to re-open Leblanc's cottages in Shediac Cape, they're not expecting much traffic to pass through.
Staff at the Bay Vista Lodge and Cottages say another barrier to cottage season is the banning of cross-border travel, as many of their visitors come from Quebec and Ontario.
"I think if it remains the way it is, they're not even going to be able to cross the border," Leblanc says. "So that's going to affect a percentage. Usually we see a good 90 per cent booked for July and August, we're assuming maybe we might hit the twenty five per cent."
Staff say they're taking it day-by-day and preparing as well as they can for an unpredictable season unlike any other.
