Campobello tourism industry relieved to learn ferry coming back online

The ferry to Campobello Island is set to make it first run in more than a year, and Frances Langerfeld couldn't be more excited.

Heading into the first long weekend of the summer, the owner of the Campobello Whale Watch Motel was bracing for another season of uncertainty and fewer tourists, thanks to a cloud of uncertainty surroundingthe status of the seasonal ferry.

The service to and from Deer Island the only way to mainland New Brunswick that doesn't involve leaving the country has been offline for more than a year due to equipment problems.

Langerfeld, who sits on the board of the Campobello Island Tourism Association, said the lack of ferry service hit the local tourism industry hard last year and businesses are feeling the effects again this summer.

"This business needs it," she told CBC News on Friday afternoon.

Her motel alone lost about 80 reservations last summer because of the situation, she said, and they have "very few reservations" heading into the long weekend.

Other businesses are in the same boat, she said, and that means fewer people dining in restaurants, shopping and taking whale-watching tours.

But Langerfeld and other tourism officials received some good news around 5 p.m. Friday: the ferry is returning.

'The day is finally here'

East Coast Ferries, the private company that owns and operates the seasonal ferry, did not answerrepeated calls from CBC New Brunswick.

A voice message earlier in the week said a "tentative" date to resume service was Friday.

That date appeared to be scrapped on Thursday when the voice message was updated to say an inspection of the vessel was postponed until Friday and a new start date would be confirmed later.

Late Friday afternoon, the company updated its outlook to say the ferry will begin running again Saturday.

"The day is finally here!!!" read a post on the company's website.

It's a relief for Langerfeld, but she wishes East Coast Ferries would do a better job of disseminating information.

"They don't communicate well at all," she said in a follow-up interview on Friday.

"It would go so far if they would answer emails, answer calls."

The uncertainty makes it difficult to inform potential guests, she said.

Langerfeld said many Canadian visitors aren't keen, or aren't allowed, to travel through the U.S. border and will look elsewhere for a vacation.

Campobello Island, in the Bay of Fundy off the province's southwestern coast, is only accessible these days via a bridge from Maine and more than an hour's drive from the border at St. Stephen.

The company kept postponing the ferry's return date throughout the outage last summer, and Langerfeld is hoping another delay isn't announced overnight.

"I'm waiting until I see the whites of their eyes," she said with a laugh.

The inspection the voice message refers to is a Transport Canada inspection, said New Brunswick Southwest MP Karen Ludwig.

The island's representative in Ottawa said she senses a high level of frustration among Campobello residents, who look to government-subsidized ferries in other parts of the province.

"They're looking for a safe, reliable and consistent ferry service, so they know when it's operating and they can start relying on that," Ludwig told Information Morning Saint John on Thursday.

Year-round ferry service

A committee was formed last year to lobby for year-round ferry service. Jack Flynn, the committee's new chair, has called on the government to subsidize a year-round ferry service similar to the provincial river ferry system.

A consultant's report, commissioned by the group and funded by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, suggested it would cost about $1.9 million to have service run throughout the year, using the same Deer Island route.

The report stated without a year-round ferry the island's population, which has dwindled to 800, will be halved within the next 40 years.

Flynn said there are multiple reasons for a drop-off in tourism, suffering businesses and population decline, but restricted access to mainland New Brunswick from the Fundy isle is a key factor.

The report, released in January, also recommended that government enter into a contract with East Coast Ferries to run the service. But Flynn said there's no political will at the provincial level for such a proposal.

A Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson said this week the provincial government "continues to discuss this issue and raise it with our federal counterparts."

"We are aware of the concerns that the residents of Campobello Island have regarding year-round access to and from the island," Jeremy Trevors said in an email.

Provincial jurisdiction

Ludwig said she is unwavering in her support for a reliable ferry and will continue to work with municipal and provincial officials.

"The short-term solution could be the seasonal ferry but a longer-term solution needs some serious conversation, some serious planning," Ludwig said.

She said since the ferry passage remains within New Brunswick, it's largely a provincial jurisdiction.

The MP said federal infrastructure money is available to the province through a 10-year, $673-million funding deal signed last year with the previous government.

"The majority of that is still on the table," Ludwig said.

Langerfeld said the year-round ferry idea isn't universally welcomed across Campobello out of concern, among others, for the cost and that it might raise taxes.

She said a year-round ferry might be a stretch too far, instead saying an extended season with limited off-season runs might be a better solution.