Today is the first day of the season for CAT ferry service, but operators said bookings are already up 15%.
Bay Ferries Limited, which operates the high-speed service between Bar Harbor, Maine, Yarmouth and Novia Scotia, said more than 18,000 passengers are booked for the 2024 season. That's a 2,445 increase from last year.
Mark Wilson, the company's acting CEO, said the increase in bookings was not a surprise because the company anticipated it would take a few years to build ridership.
"I think that's a result of a prolonged effort over the last two years," he said. "And we're starting to bear the fruit of the result of that hard work."
Wilson said he expects ridership to be higher than last year, although that depends on the summer weather. Last year, bookings started strong but faded later in the season with poor weather.
"And people want to travel when, when the weather's out," he said. "So I think if we have a good summer season on the east coast of Maine and Nova Scotia, then we're going to continue to see strong numbers on this service."
Wilson said the company began marketing the service ahead of the season, including a Black Friday sale, and that may have helped boost the advanced bookings.
