Tourism operators in Cape Breton hope for more winter visitors

Some operators in Cape Breton say they still haven't seen the numbers they have been hoping for this winter.

It may not have been the Winter Olympics, but for some people a day spent carving down the mountain at Ski Ben Eoin in Cape Breton on Saturday was the next best thing.

“When we get snow on a Monday, the rest of the week we have lineups,” said Darcy MacDonald, business operations manager at the ski hill in Ben Eoin, N.S.

Back-to-back Monday snowstorms left the hill powdery white - a big difference from recent winters.

“It was mid-January, almost the end of January sometimes before we were able to get even a run open,” MacDonald said. “Right now, we’re pretty close to having the whole mountain open and we’re way ahead of schedule.”

It’s a similar story at Ski Cape Smokey in Ingonish, N.S., where visitations are up but still fewer than officials had hoped for.

“Most places in the world when it snows and you get a lot of snow, everybody cannot giddy up (fast enough) to get there,” said Martin Kejval, CEO of Cape Smokey Holdings. “In Nova Scotia, the response is a little bit delayed so we are hoping this February will bring more people to enjoy the winter wonderland.”

“Bookings this year haven’t been terribly strong,” said Dan Coffin, owner/operator of the Auld Farm Inn just outside of Baddeck, N.S.

He said this has been their first winter open in years so he’s hoping things will pick up given the prime conditions for snowmobiling and other activities in the Cape Breton Highlands.

“We’ve got lots of access to snowmobile trails,” Coffin said. “Cross-country ski at Baddeck Nordic and Cape Smokey is booming, so there’s lots of great options and lots of great trails for snowshoeing and hiking as well.”

His optimism is shared on the slopes of Cape Smokey, where some weekend skiers are left wanting more.

“Some of them even said to me that they will plan their trips to go only to Smokey in the future and cancel their trips to Mont Tremblant and places like this which is always really, really nice to hear,” Kejval said.

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