Nova Scotia Hosts More Than 1.2 Million Visitors in Summer 2019

Nova Scotia welcomed 1,247,200 overnight visitors between June and September 2019, the peak summer tourism season.

That is a decrease of five per cent compared with 2018, but the industry remains strong after several years of growth, with 262,500 more people visiting the province during this summer’s peak months compared with the summer of 2013, before the ONE Nova Scotia report called for an expansion of tourism.

“Hosting the world is something Nova Scotia does well and we had a great season despite challenging external factors. That’s a testament to the strength of our tourism industry and the people who work hard to give visitors a great Nova Scotia experience,” said Geoff MacLellan, Minister responsible for Tourism Nova Scotia. “The industry is in a better position today than it was just a few years ago, creating new world-class experiences and gaining national and international recognition, and I strongly believe we will continue to experience growth.”

This summer, tourism operators were impacted by factors such as Hurricane Dorian, the absence of the Yarmouth-Maine ferry and the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

This year, Travel Lemming’s panel of influential travel bloggers named Nova Scotia as one of the Top 30 Emerging Destinations globally for 2020 and the number one overall destination in the US and Canada.

Two leading travel magazines, Conde Nast Traveller and Travel + Leisure also named Cape Breton Island one of the top island destinations in the world.

Quotes:

“We have experienced several years of high growth and we know there is more that all tourism stakeholders can do to attract visitors to the province. Continued collaboration on marketing and the development of world-class experiences is crucial to keeping Nova Scotia top of mind as a vacation destination.”

– Michele Saran, CEO of Tourism Nova Scotia

Quick Facts:

• visitation by air declined by seven per cent, or 29,600 fewer visitors, compared with the summer of 2018
• visitation by road declined by four per cent or 33,000 fewer visitors, although the majority of the decline, 25,100 visitors, occurred in September, influenced by Hurricane Dorian
• between June and September, licensed accommodations reported 1,370,700 room nights sold, a decrease of two per cent, or 29,300 room nights, compared with the same period in 2018
• according to data from AirDNA, 298,400 room nights were booked through sharing economy platforms between June and September 2019, an increase of 35 per cent or 77,000 room nights
• Tourism Nova Scotia works with industry and is focused on attracting higher-spending visitors from key national and international markets through marketing, sector and experience development and visitor servicing
• Tourism Nova Scotia gathers and reports tourism statistics on behalf of the tourism industry. These statistics reflect the combined efforts of tourism businesses, organizations, communities, and governments, and include activities by both Nova Scotians and non-resident visitors

Additional Resources:

• Full tourism statistics - https://www.tourismns.ca/research/tourism-statistics
• Nova Scotia’s tourism strategy - https://tourismns.ca/tourismstrategy