Research is at the heart of everything we do at Tourism Nova Scotia. All our decisions – from strategy to marketing tactics – are based on research. We also share our research insights with the tourism industry and stakeholders to enable them to make strong evidence-based decisions.

Our Key Research Initiatives

• Tourism Nova Scotia gathers and reports tourism performance statistics and visitation statistics on behalf of Nova Scotia’s tourism industry. Key indicators include visitation, accommodations statistics, tourism revenues, and other visitor activities.
• We leverage Destination Canada’s Explorer Quotient (EQ) traveller segmentation tool to provide insights into visitors’ travel values and motivations.
• We conduct a comprehensive Visitor Exit Survey among visitors to the province to develop insights into visitor activities, spending and more.
• The Tourism Nova Scotia Online Advisory Panel is a group of previous or potential visitors from key travel markets who have agreed to participate in research studies. We consult with the Online Advisory Panel to conduct research on various topics, such as culinary tourism, trails, and trip planning tools.
• We commission an independent evaluation of Tourism Nova Scotia’s annual advertising campaigns, including a Return on Investment assessment.
• We conduct an annual tourism industry survey to understand views of Nova Scotia’s tourism industry, as well as perceptions of and satisfaction with Tourism Nova Scotia’s priorities and performance.  
• Our research team conducts evaluations of our programs to ensure effective and accountable programming.
• We participate on various regional and national research committees (Destination Canada, Tourism Research Partners, Atlantic Canada Agreement on Tourism) and partner on joint research initiatives that benefit the province.