March Tourism Stats Available

Nova Scotia welcomed more than 123,000 visitors in March -- the same as March 2006 -- and had a one per cent increase in room nights sold for the month, over the same month last year.

Room nights sold varied in the regions in March, with a 25 per cent increase on the Northumberland Shore and a 14 per cent decrease on the Eastern Shore.

"Our visitor numbers are looking stable for the first few months of the year," said Len Goucher, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage. "With the upward trend in air travel and new flights coming to Nova Scotia, we're looking forward to a successful year and we'll get a better sense of how it's rolling out over the coming months."

American visitors were up 17 per cent over March 2006 and visitors from other countries were down by one per cent. The number of people traveling to Nova Scotia by road decreased eight per cent, while air visitation was up 22 per cent.

Air visitation will be boosted by a number of new flights coming to Nova Scotia. Icelandair resumed its service to Halifax on May 17. Zoom Airlines will begin flights from Belfast and Paris in early June. New direct flights are also coming from Chicago, New York and Atlanta. Air Canada and WestJet are adding new flights from Edmonton and Calgary, and WestJet is bringing in a flight from Montreal to Halifax. Porter Airlines is starting service from Toronto Island to Halifax via Montreal and Ottawa.

An increased focus on targeting cities with direct air access to Nova Scotia is key part of the new tourism plan developed through the Tourism Partnership Council. Visitors continue to be encouraged to visit by road and ferry as well.

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 all licensed accommodation operators.

Detailed tourism statistics can be found on the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage website at www.gov.ns.ca/dtc/pubs/insights . Statistics for April are expected to be released in early June.