PORTLAND, Maine — Nova Star Cruises reported it had 26 percent more passengers last month than June 2014, putting the summer service at about 10 percent of its total ridership goal for the season.
The company said in an activity report on its website that it had 8,530 passengers last month, compared with 6,768 in June of last year.
“If the trend continues, we will exceed our goal for 2015,” the company said in the statement.
Geoff MacLellan, minister of tourism for the province of Nova Scotia, said last week that the province’s determination of whether to continue subsidizing the ferry service will depend largely on what happens with ridership after the Fourth of July weekend, which he said is “the real meat of the season.”
“That’s when we have to show results,” MacLellan said.
The ferry service had 59,000 passengers last year, meaning it has to boost traffic by about 36 percent for the entire season to reach its goal of 80,000, picking up about 70,000 passengers through July and August.
The company and province of Nova Scotia also reported Nova Star Cruises did not draw on more of a $13 million (Canadian) subsidy commitment from the province for this season. It has taken about $8.1 million from that subsidy so far.
The service received a subsidy from the province last year totaling about $28.5 million.
This season, the ferry also tweaked its schedule, starting later in the year and cutting off trips in May. By the end of June last year, the service had carried about 9,682 passengers, according to the Shelburne County Coast Guard. That total included last year’s June passengers and 2,924 passengers from May 15 to May 31, 2014.