Tourism Minister, Steve Crocker says Newfoundland and Labrador is considering legislation as Marine Atlantic it will increase its fuel surcharge – reflected in the price of a ticket- to combat the rising cost of fuel.
The company announced last Thursday the surcharge will rise from 13 percent to 17 percent.
Marine Atlantic operates ferry services out of Port aux Basques and Argentia with a direct route to North Sydney, NS. In a news release the company said it wanted to be transparent about the change and the fee will be updated twice per year on Thursday, June 1 and Friday, December 1.
“The new formula will be directly tied to the average fuel price paid by marine Atlantic,” the news release said.
“To provide pricing stability for customers- the surcharge will be applied at the time of booking, not the time of travel.”
Crocker told reporters at the House of Assembly last Thursday the timing of the change,” could not have been worse. “The province recognized National Tourism Week last Wednesday.
“Increases- are going to effect, not only tourism industry, but all industry in the province,” he said.
Industry Minister, Andrew Parsons said the issue does not fall squarely on Marine Atlantic, it also falls on the federal government.
Parsons said NL has written letters to Ottawa outlining it’s concerns over the cost recovery model for years. This has hit harder now than perhaps it ever has. So he thinks we need to have a look of what these options are, including what are the possible legal options, he said.