Museum marketing pays off

Targeted marketing campaigns appear to have paid off this summer for provincial museums, says the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation.

Tourism indicators for July say visitation was up by more than 23 per cent compared to the same month last year. The biggest increases came at the museums at Green Park, near Tyne Valley, and Basin Head, north of Souris.

"Focused marketing and so on across the Island and outside the province, I think that has made a big difference," said David Keenlyside, executive director of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation.

"We certainly have benefited greatly here at Beaconsfield in terms of the cruise ship visitation. That has made quite a significant difference here in Charlottetown for us. At Basin Head there the promotion around the best beach in Canada, I think that made a big difference. We saw quite a surge of interest in Basin Head with that.'

The jump in visitors was part of an overall increase in tourism business in July.

• Tourism sees improvement in July

While Basin Head is best known for its beach, it is also home to the provincial fisheries museum. Green Park is the location of the provincial shipbuilding museum.

Keenlyside said the increased visitation also generated a little extra revenue this year.