In Stage Two of reopening, Port Stanley, Ont. seeing a tourism revitalization

PORTSTANLEY, ONT. – The Port Stanley Terminal Rail (PTSR) pulls into the station on the first weekend of the season, a sure sign that the tourist season has arrived in the village of Lake Erie.

“It’s been great to be back, it’s been a long 18 months,” said Dan Vernackt, President of the PTSR, who has been running for the first time since December 2019.

The train began traveling to St. Thomas on Canada Day with limited capacity.

“We allow 30 people per train and encourage people to book online so we know who’s coming,” says Vernackt.

All runs are sold out for the weekend, and on the first Saturday Kota Nayak got on, who came with two other families from the GTA to rent cottages that weekend.

“It’s been a great experience for us and a wonderful thing to do after the lockdown,” says Nayak.

“We’ve never taken the train before and the kids wanted to do it, so it’s really nice to be in phase 2 and we’re enjoying it.”

The Smokin ‘Bass Band for the Port Stanley Legion (Brent Lale / CTV London)

Next door in the Port Stanley Legion there was live music for the first time this year. It brought a welcome atmosphere to the village.

“It’s been since last February so we’re more than excited to play in front of people,” says Meg McTaggart, singer with the Smokin ‘Bass Band.

“The morale of the village immediately rises when you have a great day like today with live music, so it’s great.”

Up until the second stage of Ontario’s reopening plan, the only tourists were the ones who went to the beach and perhaps grabbed take-away.

With the lifting of the restrictions, the small shop on the east side of the village has seen increased pedestrian traffic.

“Everyone’s coming out,” says Sara Lockhart, owner of Art & Soul.

“People used to stay home and be safe, but we’re doing a lot more business now. We sell a lot of art that we haven’t sold in a while.”

Jean Vedova, owner of the Kettle Creek Inn, is delighted with the increase in tourism in phase 2 (Brent Lale / CTV London)

At one of the few places to stay in the village, says Jean Vedova, she gets more calls every day.

“Our lodging sector has done well, which thankfully helps pay the bills,” says Vedova, owner of the Kettle Creek Inn.

“As for the food, with the weather gods not cooperating and Mr (Doug) Ford not rolling out phase 3 quickly enough, I have a hard time finding the people I should be bringing in to eat – we are allowed to eat inside, tourism in Port Stanley is becoming look a lot healthier. “

Even if the village recovers, peak tourism this year will ultimately depend on two things. The first is that the province moves into phase 3, the second is the eventual opening of the lift bridge.