New Tourism Research Bulletins

New research bulletins are providing tourism operators, partners and potential investors with insights to help grow Nova Scotia's tourism industry.

The Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage released 10 bulletins today, June 15, on markets with the best potential for growth in Nova Scotia.

"We held a research symposium this spring to educate tourism partners on our current research practices and ask them how we could serve them better from a research point of view," said Len Goucher, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage. "These bulletins are a first step to providing more research information that will help current and potential tourism partners make well-informed decisions and attract more visitors to Nova Scotia."

The first set of bulletins, written in a short, concise format, makes the best use of existing data with the context to understand the following markets:

• European travellers
• family and grandparents travelling together
• gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered travellers
• hiking
• motorcycle touring
• music lovers
• short "getaway" vacations
• travellers from Alberta
• wine and culinary lovers
• women travelling on their own or in groups

"The global tourism industry is changing so quickly that quality research is crucial to help guide decision-making," said Susan Tilley-Russell, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia. "At the symposium, the industry asked the department to do more analysis and interpretation of the numbers, and to make its research easier to get and understand, so we're pleased to see these bulletins coming out as a first step in that direction."

More bulletins will be produced to give market outlooks, analysis of Nova Scotia's accommodations sector and profiles of visitors to the province.

The bulletins add to the many reports and statistics available to the industry and to potential investors. Research is a key part of the department's efforts to attract more tourism investment. The bulletins and other research are featured on the website, www.gov.ns.ca/tourisminvestment . Development opportunities in the industry will be posted on the site in the future.

The bulletins are also posted on the department's website at www.gov.ns.ca under tourism insights.