The province has awarded the contract for a study of the ‘CAT’ ferry.

Consulting firm 21 FSP will do a broad economic impact study of the service, which runs from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor, Maine.

It will include data from 2 sailing seasons.

The study will cost 180-thousand dollars, and should be completed next fall.

The contract with Bay Ferries is up after the 2025 sailing season.

Public Works Minister Kim Masland says this level of detail has never been gathered before, and it will help determine if the service is providing good value to Nova Scotians.

Passenger bookings update:

Bay Ferries says bookings on the ‘CAT’ are up from last year.

About 2,000 more tickets have been sold compared to the same period last season.

As of Monday, over 38,600 passengers have booked a trip on the ferry.

The operator says U.S. trips to Canada remain 20 percent below pre-pandemic levels.

They say extreme weather over the tourism season has had an impact on visitation to Nova Scotia.

A final report on the season is expected by the end of October.