“It was a challenging financial year across the board,” noted Mr. Da Silva in Council las month. “Inflation hit raw materials, shipping costs, labour costs, debt financing — everything.”

At the same time, a steep decline in tourist numbers put “incredible pressure” on County businesses.

The Prince Edward County Chamber does not receive any municipal support — unlike those of Quinte West and Belleville, which also enjoy larger member businesses with head offices and manufacturing companies easily able to absorb the cost of membership.

The Chamber represents 280 of the County’s 1079 small businesses — 90% of which are small, independent and local. Only 10 businesses in the County have 100 or more employees.

As a member-serving organization, the Chamber was rendered ineligible for municipal grants in that program’s 2024 overhaul.

At the same time, while over half of the Chamber’s member businesses represent the the hospitality, tourism, and accommodations sector, the County funds its tourism management organizations, Visit the County and StayPEC, with the MAT, again leaving the Chamber out in the cold.

“In 2022, the County made VTC and StayPEC the Destination Management Organizations responsible for tourism — but the Chamber, with its beautiful Picton Main Street storefront space, has always acted as a tourism centre, greeting visitors and distributing print materials and maps,” said Mr. Da Silva.

Last year, the Chamber partnered with the PEC Wine Association for the first time to print 40,000 tourist maps, which feature a County-wide business directory. It also invested significant resources to create a new digital and interactive version of the map.

The Chamber’s Board Chair, Lawrence Mosselson of The Behar Group Realty, seconded Mr. Da Silva’s remarks in a formal comment, noting, “we are a de facto tourism office, even though we receive no funding.”

He described a pilot partnership with Visit the County, which provided $15,000 to establish the Chamber office as visitor centre open on weekends and holidays. A part-time staffer kept the Chamber’s Main Street office open for five days per week, on weekends and holidays, for 15 weeks starting in July.

“During this period we logged 462 in person visits to the office,” said Mr. Mosselson, who estimated those visits worked out to about 5 hours a week spent addressing tourism-related questions.

The project was not publicized, “meaning visitors came to us without prior knowledge that this dedicated support was available.”

Despite its obvious success, said Mr. Mosselson, VTC decided there was “no benefit” to continuing the funding in 2025 — despite the fact, he stressed, that VTC has no office, and no physical presence on any Main Street in the County. “They have no phone number or direct email address on their website. There is no way for visitors to get directly in touch.”

Visit the County’s Board Chair Rebecca Mackenzie noted, “VTC did not explicitly request that the pilot not be publicized.” She also noted that of those 462 visitors to the pop up, “175 were residents or others, not primarily tourists.”

“Due to a projected 40% decline in MAT (Municipal Accommodation Tax) revenues, VTC is unable to continue funding this initiative,” she explained. “Our 2025 budget prioritizes essential services aligned with our mandate, such as managing printed tourism materials across municipal information centers.”

Of the projected funding shortfall, “we have set strategic targets for 2025 to increase overnight tourism visits throughout the year,” she stressed. “We remain committed to collaborating with the Chamber and other community partners to strengthen the County’s tourism sector.”