November 7, 2016
Two-hundred and forty thousand non-resident overnight visitors came to the province in September, an increase of 11 per cent compared to September 2015, according to figures released today, Nov. 7, by Tourism Nova Scotia.
"We continue to see remarkable tourism growth and we're just getting started," said Michele Saran, CEO, Tourism Nova Scotia. "Together with industry stakeholders and businesses, we're working to reach $4 billion in tourism revenues by 2024.
"We must continue to invest in tourism products and world-class experiences that will give people a compelling reason to visit. Tourism Nova Scotia's focus, in particular, is to get more higher-spending first-time visitors to come to Nova Scotia."
Air visitation increased by 15 per cent, compared to September 2015, to 86,100, while visitors who travelled by road increased by nine per cent to 153,900.
Out of 192,400 Canadian visitors, the majority, 98,100, came from Atlantic Canada, followed by Ontario, 59,200, Western Canada, 24,900 and Quebec, 10,200.
About 34,000 visitors came from the United States, primarily from the northeastern United States, 15,400.
Visitation from overseas totalled 13,600 in September.
There were 320,000 room nights sold in September, an increase of five per cent compared to the same period in 2015. The occupancy rate increased from 69 per cent in September 2015 to 73 per cent in 2016.
Halifax sold the most room nights, 141,000, followed by Cape Breton,70,000, and Bay of Fundy and Annapolis Valley, 44,000. South Shore sold 28,000, while Northumberland Shore sold 25,000, followed by 9,000 in Yarmouth and Acadian Shores and 3,000 in Eastern Shore.
Tourism revenues for September 2016 are estimated at $257 million bringing year-to-date revenues to $2 billion. Based on year-to-date performance, tourism revenues for the year are expected to be about $2.6 billion, up from $2.5 billion in 2015.
Year-to-date September visitation is up eight per cent for a total of 1,798,000 non-resident overnight visitors. Year-to-date room nights sold are at 2,097,000, up four per cent from last year.