News release

Strong Tourism Recovery in 2023

Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage
Photo of three people walking on boardwalk near the ocean

Visitors are seen on the boardwalk at Kejimkujik National Park Seaside. Statistics for 2023 show a 14 per cent increase in visitors to Nova Scotia compared with 2022. (Tourism Nova Scotia)

Nova Scotia welcomed 2.2 million visitors in 2023, an increase of 14 per cent compared with the previous year’s 1.9 million.

“Nova Scotia has so much to offer visitors, and it is wonderful to see tourism getting back on track and poised for growth,” said Allan MacMaster, Minister of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. “We’re working closely with operators and communities to keep the momentum going for 2024 and raise Nova Scotia’s profile as a top vacation destination.”

Visitation was six per cent below pre-pandemic 2019, due mostly to softer recovery of tourists from Atlantic Canada and the United States, but the number of visitors from Ontario, Western Canada and overseas grew.

Accommodation operators reported growth in sales compared with both 2022 and 2019, with three million room nights sold in 2023.

Quotes:

“Tourism is a critical part of our provincial economy with annual revenues over $3 billion, employing more than 50,000 Nova Scotians. It is encouraging to see tourism recovering after a challenging couple of years, and we know with an integrated and holistic approach to growth there is tremendous opportunity in the years to come.”
— Darlene Grant Fiander, President, Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia

Quick Facts:

  • the Province invested more than $4 million in programs in 2023 to support tourism businesses and communities with marketing, digital adoption and product development
  • Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage runs advertising campaigns in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany to promote travel to Nova Scotia
  • the Province is working with the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia on a tourism sector strategy for Nova Scotia, which will be released this year

Additional Resources:

2023 tourism statistics summary: https://tourismns.ca/sites/default/files/2024-04/2023_Tourism_Performance_Report.pdf

Visitation statistics: https://tourismns.ca/visitation-statistics

Accommodation statistics: https://tourismns.ca/accommodation-statistics

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