Professionals Run Tourism Industry

Professionals in Nova Scotia's tourism industry are working hard to attract and serve visitors during Tourism Week, June 5-11, and all year long.

"We're proud of the thousands of talented Nova Scotians who run our tourism industry," said Tourism, Culture and Heritage Minister Judy Streatch. "Through a wide variety of jobs, they contribute to our $1.29 billion industry and fuel the province's economic growth."

Tourism revenues have consistently been more than $1 billion since 1997. The industry supports 33,000 jobs in rural and urban areas of the province. It is made up of a broad mix of operations from accommodations and transportation to grocery and liquor sales.

"Among this industry's greatest assets is the commitment to guest service and delivery on the promise by operators," said Pat Lyall, chair of the Nova Scotia Tourism Partnership Council. "Collectively, we invest in and support a plan that is strategic to communicating the message necessary to motivate our customers to choose Nova Scotia. This activity is fueled by the belief and confidence in a partnership approach to growing tourism revenues."

The Tourism Partnership Council is made up of industry and government representatives who work together to lead growth in the industry. They develop a tourism plan each year based on extensive research.

The 2006 tourism plan aims to achieve two per cent growth in revenues. It takes into account global challenges in the tourism industry and includes measures to strengthen transportation links to the province, test new markets, use more online resources, develop experience-based tourism packages, and more.

The tourism plan and an overview of the department's marketing campaign are available on the website at www.gov.ns.ca/dtc .