Victoria Day long weekend serves as unofficial start of tourist season in Cape Breton

Baddeck, N.S., kicked off the tourism season over the long weekend.

The May long weekend is the unofficial kickstart to tourist season in Cape Breton so there was a steady number of customers at the High Wheeler Cafe and Bakery in Baddeck, N.S., on Sunday.

“We’ve already seen in the first week, I think, numbers are up already this year,” said co-owner Nick Pino.

The popular cafe along Baddeck’s main street just opened for the season after significant renovations for what they expect will be a busy spring and summer.

“The last couple of months too, even with the coffee business we’ve seen a lot more local support,” Pino said. “I know people are travelling shorter distances.”

Pino said if the rest of the summer is like the first week it’s going to be a great season for everyone.

Destination Cape Breton CEO Terry Smith said their website’s traffic hit record levels last year and is 50 per cent higher so far this year. He said he expects Cape Breton will benefit from people who are hesitant to travel to the U.S. and are instead planning vacations within Canada.

“We expect to be getting a fair number of those folks, and from what I’m hearing nationally it’s looking like many people are choosing either the East Coast or the West Coast, so I think we’re really going to benefit from that,” Smith said.

The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck welcomed its first visitors of the season on the weekend but next weekend promises to be bigger. The Cabot Trail Relay Race takes place May 24 and 25 and finishes on Baddeck’s Main Street on Sunday morning.

“It’s my favourite day of the year and that is a ginormous head start for our business and all the businesses around here,” Pino said

The race typically brings more than 1,000 runners and spectators to the village. Race organizers said they estimate the event brings approximately $1.7 million to businesses in communities along the Cabot Trail each year.

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