Nova Scotia accommodations operators report 241,000 room nights sold in May 2022, compared with 61,000 room nights sold in May 2021 (a difference of 180,000 room nights) and a 5% increase over 2019 (a difference of 12,000 room nights).
May is the third consecutive month that room night sales have increased on a province-wide basis when measured against the corresponding pre-pandemic month in 2019.
On a regional basis, room nights sales in May 2022 were up over the same month in 2019 in all regions except in Halifax Metro. The highest percentage increases were in South Shore (20,000 room nights sold, up 63% against May 2019) and Yarmouth & Acadian Shores (6,000 room nights sold, up 26%).
Sales in Halifax in May 2022 were up 294% compared with May 2021, but still down 3% against May 2019. One month earlier in April, Halifax showed a 3% gain in sales over April 2019 – the only month to date in 2022 that sales in Halifax have been higher than the corresponding month in 2019.
Year-to-date May 2022, operators reported 794,000 room nights sold across the province, an increase of 96% over the same period in 2021 (389,000 more room nights sold) and a decrease of 1% over the same period in 2019 (9,000 fewer room nights sold).
All but two regions have more room nights sold year-to-date May 2022 than in the same pre-pandemic period in 2019. The highest gains are in South Shore (sales up 30% compared with the first five months of 2019) and up 15% and 14% respectively in Bay of Fundy & Annapolis Valley and Yarmouth & Acadian Shores.
Sales are down year-to-date May 2022 in Halifax (down 7%, or 38,000 fewer room nights sold, compared with the same period in 2019) and in Northumberland Shore (down 5%, or 2,000 fewer room nights sold).
Although accommodations recovery shows continued strength across much of the province, recovery remains an ongoing challenge in Halifax, with monthly sales still falling shy of pre-pandemic levels in that region.
Nova Scotia Room Nights Sold (TNS Accommodations Database):
