Achi news desk-
Tens of thousands of visitors flock to Quebec’s Île-de-la-Madeleine every summer to see the seascapes framed by its cliffs and sandy beaches. But starting next month, those stays on the island come at an extra cost.
The small archipelago northeast of Prince Edward Island introduces a $30 visitor fee to raise funds for tourism infrastructure, environmental protection and waste management. The new toll, called the Archipelago Pass, will be mandatory for domestic and international travelers staying in the islands for more than 24 hours between May 1 and October 14. People who don’t comply will risk a $1,000 fine.
Ile-de-la-Madeleine Mayor Antonin Vallicte says the fee is necessary because tourists strain local services and increase existing municipal revenue. The islands have a population of about 13,000, but welcomed five times as many visitors between May and October 2023, according to the local tourism board.
“If you think the Île-de-la-Madeleine is beautiful, magnificent, and that’s why you come to see them, then we have to ask you to contribute a little to the preservation of this quality of life and the quality of this tourist destination,” Valiquette said in an interview on Wednesday.
Valiquette insists the card is not a barrier to entering or leaving the islands, but the fee nonetheless has some islanders worried it will harm the freedom of Quebecers and other Canadians to travel within their country.
“I think it’s outrageous to ask someone for identification to get out of their town,” local hotel owner Hani Thereau said Wednesday. She was one of several people who voiced opposition to the visitor fee during a tense local government meeting on April 9, during which elected officials passed the bylaw establishing it.
In an interview, Therio said she sees the toll as particularly unfair because it would charge Quivers for using public resources that are partially funded by the provincial government, such as roads. “So we end up charging Quebeckers to visit their infrastructure, which they pay for with their taxes,” she said.
Susie LeBlanc, a former Île-de-la-Madeleine city councilwoman, said she sympathizes with the city’s budget challenges, but is troubled by the implications of the Pass Archipelago rules on citizen mobility. “There is really an obstacle to my freedom of movement,” she said. “This is the first time in my life that this has happened to me, and I don’t think it makes sense.”
Valicetta, however, compared the visitor fee to the $50.25 toll price cars would have to pay to cross the Confederation Bridge between New Brunswick and PEI if Confederation Bridge officials introduced a toll exemption for Île-de-la-Madeleine residents passing through PEI, he said. “I don’t think there will be many who won’t show their driver’s license, or ID or proof of residence instead of paying $50. So it’s exactly the same principle here.”
He argued that the Archipelago Pass was less intrusive to islanders than alternative fundraising strategies, such as parking fees at local beaches. And it would be difficult to charge fees for lodging, he said, because many of the tourist accommodations on the islands are single-family home rentals, not hotels.
It will be possible to pay for the Archipel Pass through a future online platform and confirm via a QR code visitors will receive by email. An official will verify visitors’ codes upon departure by ferry or plane. Islanders are exempt from the Archipelago Pass, but will have to produce proof of residence when they leave the islands to avoid the fee, which applies only to travelers aged 13 and older, and is limited to $100 for families of up to two. Adults and five children – traveling together. There is also an exception for second home owners.
Archipelago Pass is not the first attempt by a Quebec town to pass on infrastructure costs to tourists. Last year, a Quebec Superior Court judge overturned an effort by the town of Persa on the Gaspe Peninsula to have companies charge visitors an extra $1 on purchases of more than $20, saying the municipality exceeded its authority by forcing local businesses to apply the fee. Persa appealed the verdict.
Dominique Lapointe, a professor of urban studies and tourism at the University of Quebec in Montreal, says popular destinations often struggle with what he called an “imbalance” between tourism and urban resource capacity. The Passe Archipel model is a first in Quebec, he said, but similar fees exist elsewhere in the world. The city of Venice launched a pilot program on Thursday that charges day-trippers a fee of five euros.
Lapointe said in an interview that the Île-de-la-Madeleine toll manages to “save for the residents while maintaining a very high level of accessibility to public facilities.” Direct fees on local services create “a much greater sense of dispossession for the local population,” he said.
Lapointe doubts paying visitors to the islands will lead to fewer tourists. Michel Bonato, general manager of the Île-de-la-Madeleine tourist board, said his office had not seen a recent drop in bookings.
Thériault fears that the Passe Archipel model could spread. “This creates a dangerous precedent for other municipalities in Quebec,” she argued. “So if it’s accepted here, why would any city hesitate to establish the same measures?”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 27, 2024.
