The Tourism Research Centre (TRC) in the School of Business at UPEI has released a new report profiling visitors to PEI by entry and exit points. This report is based on the results of an exit survey conducted from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008.

The report examines the profile of visitors according to how they arrived in and departed PEI. In all, five groups were examined: those who arrived and departed solely by air, bridge or ferry, and those who used a combination of bridge and ferry or a combination of air and bridge or ferry.

The Confederation Bridge was the most popular means of entering and departing PEI. Seventy (70) per cent of visitors to PEI both arrived and departed using the Confederation Bridge. The majority of these visitors were from New Brunswick (40 per cent) and Nova Scotia (32 per cent), which may also help to explain the high rate of repeat visitation by this travel group (84 per cent had previously been to PEI) and the high frequency of repeat visitation (an average of five trips in five years). By providing year-round ground accessibility to PEI, the bridge is critical to PEI's tourism industry.

'The bridge will play a crucial role in developing our most proximate markets since most bridge travellers came from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,' noted Dr. Paul Lewis, Research Director at the TRC. 'It will also play a vital role in developing PEI's significant elderly adult couples market because 49 per cent of bridge traveller parties were adult couples and about 64 per cent of all bridge users were over 35 years of age.'

A combination of bridge and ferry was how 16 per cent of travel parties entered and exited PEI. This combination was quite popular in the shoulder seasons with 25 per cent using this combination in the fall and 19 per cent in the spring. The majority of these visitors had been to PEI in the current or previous year.

There are several pieces of evidence that suggest PEI is part of a larger Maritime itinerary for those using a combination of bridge and ferry to travel to and from PEI. The most apparent reason is that visitors are entering PEI from one neighbouring province and departing to another, allowing them to visit three provinces on one trip. In addition, PEI was not considered the primary destination of the trip for 38 per cent of these travellers, and stays in PEI account for only three nights of an average eight-night trip.

About eight per cent of travel parties arrived and departed by air. This group primarily consisted of visitors returning to PEI to visit family and friends. They come to PEI frequently, with 71 per cent having been to PEI earlier in the year in which the survey was conducted.

Most travel parties entering and exiting by air were from Ontario, were over the age of 35, were female, and stayed an average of 5.5 nights. This relatively small group of travellers accounted for the second highest average spending per party per visit ($942.42). This is likely due, in part, to their longer stays. Given weather conditions in the winter season, air travel will be important for the winter tourism market.

The ferry was the mode of arrival and departure for six percent of travel parties. With 91 per cent of these travel parties hailing from Nova Scotia, it seems that the ferry is a convenient way for older Nova Scotian couples and families to take frequent short trips to PEI. This group had the highest degree of repeat visitation (85 per cent), and almost all considered PEI to be their primary destination. With an average length of stay of three nights, it appears that the ferry caters to a predominantly short-haul market seeking relatively brief holidays. Despite their short stays, these visitors had the highest levels of spending on accommodations, restaurants, local transportation, recreation and entertainment.

A combination of air and ground transportation was not common for visitors to PEI. Less than one per cent of travel parties used this combination. Those that did were primarily from Ontario (33 per cent) and international origins outside the US (26 per cent). This group had the lowest rate of repeat visitation to PEI but stayed the longest (an average of 6.9 nights). Perhaps a reflection of their longer stays, these visitors had the highest average spending per party per visit ($1,153.49). Given the unique combination of arrival and departure transportation, PEI is likely to be part of a larger travel itinerary for this group.

This report is available on the exit survey section of the TRC's website: www.trc.upei.ca/exitsurvey. More information about the report can be obtained from the TRC at (902) 566-6096 or trc@upei.ca.

Future plans include developing a similar mobile theme for Moodle, the university's virtual learning environment.

The Institute of Island Studies will launch its latest book, A Magnificent Gift Declined: The Dalton Sanatorium of Prince Edward Island, 1913-1923, on September 16^th at 7 p.m. at the Emyvale Recreation Centre in Emyvale, P.E.I.

Written by educator Leonard Cusack, the book is no ordinary community history. Cusack skillfully portrays provincial and federal political manoeuvring and the social context surrounding P.E.I.'s first hospital for treating tuberculosis, which was established in 1913.

Considered a state-of-the-art facility at the time, the Dalton Sanatorium was donated by Charles Dalton to the Province of P.E.I. and built on an isolated hilltop in the fresh country air between Charlottetown and Summerside. The facility was later expanded by the federal government to include 75 beds for returned World War One soldiers, but by 1923, the hospital was totally demolished. It would be another ten years before a new TB sanatorium was built in Charlottetown.

Described by historian Francis Bolger as "a wonderful read", and including a foreword by folklorist John Cousins, the well-crafted 168-page paperback contains many archival photos and a bibliography. It will be available in bookstores throughout P.E.I.

The public is also invited to book signings by the author on September 17 at two locations: from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Lefurgey Cultural Centre in Summerside, and at the Carriage House at Beaconsfield Historic House in Charlottetown from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Cusack is a retired high school teacher and provincial civil servant. He currently serves on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and teaches as a sessional lecturer at UPEI. He and his wife Catherine still reside in Emyvale where they raised five children.

The book is published by Island Studies Press, the publishing arm of the Institute of island Studies at UPEI. The Institute is a research, education and public policy institute based at UPEI. IIS focuses on the culture, environment and economy of small islands. For more information, visit upei.ca/iis/

A team of researchers from UPEI and the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre (CCWHC) have found a potentially deadly strain of fungus for amphibians on Prince Edward Island. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, more commonly known as chytrid fungus, is blamed for the extreme decline or extinction of more than 200 species of frogs and toads around the world.

'We started this summer asking one question: do we have this fungus on Prince Edward Island?' says Natacha Hogan, assistant professor of Biology and associate fellow of the Canadian Rivers Institute. 'The first frog we collected this summer had it. That answered our first question, but it created dozens of new ones.'

Maria Forzan, Wildlife Pathologist at AVC for CCWHC, Atlantic Region, says chytrid fungus was first discovered in the late 1990s by researchers in Central America. The fungus has since spread to Australia, South America, and North America.

'Chytrid causes a disease in the skin of frogs and toads called chytridiomycosis,' explains Forzan. 'No one knows yet how the disease kills, but we do know it thickens amphibians' skin, interfering with their ability to balance their electrolytes, and possibly even breathe. Amphibian skin is normally much more permeable than our own.'

Forzan and Hogan says it's too soon to say what chytrid fungus means to the frogs and toads of Prince Edward Island.

'Just having the fungus here doesn't mean it's causing a problem,' says Hogan. 'It may be the fungus has been here for decades and our frogs have adapted to it. But, it may also be selectively targeting one or two of our species of frogs. If that's the case, it could lead to an extreme decline, or even extirpation of one or more of our frogs or toads.'

'One problem we face is there's never been a comprehensive survey of frogs and toads on Prince Edward Island,' adds Forzan. 'So we can't say whether there's been a decline in the population, or any change at all. But we can build on the survey data we gathered this summer. This is the start of long-term research of the Island's amphibians.'

Hogan and Forzan's team, which includes UPEI biologist Kevin Teather, and CCWHC's Darlene Weeks, has created the Amphibian Health Research Network (AHRN). With funding from CCWHC, the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund, and UPEI, they'll help better understand how chytrid fungus behaves in a northern climate and what this means for the health of amphibians on PEI.

UPEI students are known for their successful Shinerama campaigns. In 2007, they were awarded for having the best overall campaign in Canada.

UPEI faculty members Brent MacLaine, Deirdre Kessler and Sean Weibe will join other Island writers this coming weekend, September 18-20, in readings and workshops at the Pen & Inkling Festival, a celebration of the Prince Edward Island Writers' Guild's 20th anniversary.