News release

January and February Stats Available

Tourism, Culture and Heritage (Dec. 2003 - Jan. 2011)

Nova Scotia welcomed 191,500 visitors between January and February, which is about the same as last year.

"It is very early in the season to speculate on what the year will bring," said Percy Paris, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage. "We're finalizing our marketing campaigns and will soon be ramping up activities in key markets."

Room nights sold for January and February were down one per cent compared to the same months in 2009. Results varied across the province though with Northumberland Shore, Fundy Shore and Annapolis Valley regions seeing increases in January and February.

The number of people travelling to Nova Scotia by road during the two months grew by six per cent, while air travel was down 11 per cent compared to 2009.

Nova Scotia's comprehensive system for reporting tourism statistics includes counting overnight visitors, excluding Nova Scotia residents, at all entry points to the province and gathering the number of room nights sold from licensed accommodations operators.

Detailed tourism statistics can be found on the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage website at http://www.gov.ns.ca/tch/tourism/facts-figures.aspx.