Tourism about to boom in Muskoka

As the May long weekend approaches as the unofficial kick-off to summer, tourism is expected to pick up in Muskoka.

With the sky-rocketing cost of fuel, people are keeping an eye on price boards along the highway these days. As the long weekend fast approaches, many plan to stay close to home to save a few bucks.

The value of the Canadian dollar is also a big concern for potential travellers with the summer just around the corner.

The Sherwood Inn in Muskoka Lakes that sits next to Lake Joseph will return to a fully operational status on Friday after only being open on weekends in the winter.

So far, bookings look pretty good for the summer season.

“Right now, we are seeing all of our booking patterns, we’re pacing ahead of where we were last year again, and last year we were pacing ahead of the year before,” says Gerry Feltis with the Sherwood Inn.

Muskoka Tourism says hotels and resorts are paced ahead of last year’s numbers by about 3 per cent. It also expects the high price of gas to be a factor in people summering close to home this summer.

“Being two hours north of the largest population in Canada certainly is a benefit to us. Normally it represents in the neighbourhood of 85 to 95 per cent of our business,” says Feltis.

Massive blue bladders placed around the Muskoka Wharf during the recent flooding were removed just in time for the Wenonah 2 to begin its sailing for the summer. The first cruise is set for May 20.

“Typically in a year we’ll get 35,000 to 40,000 passengers. Last year, we had a bit more than that because of a few factors. This year we are expecting the same or maybe a bit more,” says John Miller with Muskoka Steamships.

Many of the resort operators say they are seeing an increase in the number of international visitors too, welcome news for an industry that depends on a strong summer season.