July Tourism Stats Available

Nova Scotia continues to see some positive results from tourism indicators this year, including cruise ship passengers and motorcoach visitors.

Room nights sold in the province were up by one per cent year to date. However, the province welcomed three per cent fewer visitors overall from January to July compared to 2010.

"Poor weather conditions and a difficult economic climate continued to have an effect on regional travel in July," said John MacDonell, acting Minister of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism. "However, we have seen consistent increases in air travel and cruise passengers, which is a positive sign. These positive results bear out our continuing efforts to build our tourism industry and create good jobs that grow Nova Scotia's economy."

Year to date, air travel was up nine per cent compared to 2010, while road travel to the province decreased by seven per cent.

Motorcoach traffic continued to show gains, with a 22 per cent increase over the 2010 season.

Cruise ship passengers in Halifax showed a 20 per cent increase year to date over last year and Sydney was up 52 per cent.

In July, visitors to Nova Scotia decreased by three per cent overall compared to last year. Air travel was up by twelve per cent, while road travel decreased by seven per cent.

Domestic travel to the province was down three per cent year to date. Visits from Quebec increased by six per cent and visits from Western Canada increased by 7 per cent. Visits from Ontario were down by one per cent, while visits from Atlantic Canada decreased by five per cent.

Visits from the United States were down six per cent year to date compared to last year, while results for July were down by eight per cent compared to 2010.

Total overseas visits were up nine per cent for the year. Results for Germany are up 47 per cent, while visits from the UK were down 18 per cent.

Tourism statistics vary across the province. Detailed results can be found at www.gov.ns.ca/econ/tourism/research/latest-activity-updates.asp.

Nova Scotia's comprehensive system for reporting monthly tourism statistics includes counting non-resident overnight visitors at entry points to the province and gathers the number of room nights sold from licensed accommodation operators.

Tourism is an important contributor to Nova Scotia's economy. In 2008, the industry employed more than 31,000 people and generated revenues of $1.82 billion.