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Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable tourism offers an opportunity to support Nova Scotia’s economic, cultural and social development while protecting and enhancing our natural environment. Sustainable tourism refers to the practices by tourism operators and attractions that minimize negative impacts on the environment, respect local cultures and communities, and contribute positively to the preservation of natural resources.

Tourism Nova Scotia is committed to supporting sustainable tourism growth in our province by reducing the environmental impact of our operations, educating industry on sustainable practices, and ensuring tourism development considers the needs of both residents and visitors while benefiting all regions of the province.  We want to ensure that tourism supports long-term economic growth while helping to enhance quality of life for residents and protecting our cultural and natural heritage.

Two people on the Franey Trail look out over the ocean.

Our actions include:

  • Promoting market-ready products and attractions that have capacity and infrastructure in place to serve visitors and avoiding promotion of any ecologically sensitive areas

  • Encouraging visitors to explore and enjoy lesser-known destinations or visiting popular destinations during quieter times to help avoid overtourism by sharing information on our trip planning website NovaScotia.com, social media and resources for experience and package development

  • Educating visitors on responsible travel practices through information on NovaScotia.com

  • Providing guidance and coaching to operators on best practices for sustainability, research on traveller interest in eco-tourism products, and ensuring best practices are followed in all product development partnerships through our programming

  • Collaborating with emergency management and community organizations to ensure businesses and travellers have timely and effective information to support safety and recovery during climate emergencies

  • Providing support to industry through a Support for Emergency Response webpage and guides to become more prepared for climate emergencies (e.g., floods, fires, storms) and effectively support and communicate with travellers during these events 

  • Considering the environmental impacts in our corporate operations including avoiding single-use plastic items, carpooling to events and photoshoots, reducing paper use and increasing availability of online resources

  • Supporting the actions in the Climate Change in Nova Scotia plan

 

As a division of the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage, Tourism Nova Scotia is acting on the Department’s Climate Adaptation Strategy, including protecting vulnerable assets, providing climate adaptive programming, supporting emergency preparedness and disaster response planning, and communicating and partnering with government colleagues and industry to mitigate and adapt to impacts of climate change.