Despite dip in visitor numbers, N.S. tourism revenue grew to $3.5B in 2024

Nova Scotia welcomed less visitors successful 2024 than it did the twelvemonth before, but tourism revenues increased by 10 per cent to $3.5 billion.

Last year, astir 2 cardinal tourists visited the province, marking a 2 per cent alteration compared to 2023. It's besides a 12 per cent alteration from the fig of visitors successful 2019, according to authorities figures released Friday.

Visitors from different parts of Atlantic Canada made up the biggest percent of tourists to Nova Scotia past year, followed by Ontario, which represented 29 per cent of tourists. 

Sean Buckland, vice-president of operations for Ambassatours Gray Line, says 2024 was the champion twelvemonth successful his company's 38-year history.

"We saw a large magnitude of visitation from our neighbouring provinces successful New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Ontario was significant. I deliberation 3 retired of 10 passengers for america were from Ontario," he said. 

"Quebec was precise beardown arsenic well, Alberta and British Columbia. We did spot immoderate postulation from New England and the [United] States arsenic well."

Buckland expects that existent U.S.-Canada tensions volition punctual much Canadians to question wrong the country, portion American tourists whitethorn beryllium inclined to sojourn successful bid to instrumentality vantage of the weaker Canadian dollar.

While Atlantic Canadians and Ontarians helped thrust tourism successful Nova Scotia past year, less radical from those regions visited Nova Scotia compared to 2023.

"Since the pandemic, [Atlantic Canadians] haven't been returning to Nova Scotia rather arsenic rapidly arsenic they person been to further distant markets," said Anna Moran, manager of research, readying and determination enactment for Tourism Nova Scotia.

"They besides thin to beryllium a spot much price-sensitive than different markets. And with inflation, we person seen immoderate increases successful outgo crossed each types of of goods and services."

She said the state works with tourism businesses to make "unique question packages" that beforehand Nova Scotia arsenic a year-round destination. 

Duncan MacLean, president of TayMac Tours successful Halifax, works mostly with cruise passengers who halt successful Nova Scotia during a larboard of call.

He said portion of wherefore 2024 was a bully twelvemonth for his manufacture was the lukewarm calm weather.  

"I believed past twelvemonth the fig of cruise vessel stops was up possibly by astir 20 oregon 30 stops and the ships appeared to beryllium beauteous adjacent to afloat precocious successful the season, which is truly bully for us," helium said.

High hopes for 2025

Both Buckland and MacLean anticipation this twelvemonth volition beryllium adjacent amended than 2024. 

MacLean said most of his clients are American and that helium expects they volition beryllium incentivized to sojourn much often present that the Canadian dollar is weaker. 

Additionally, helium hopes that without the c tax, state prices volition spell down, encouraging radical wrong driving region to sojourn Nova Scotia. 

Moran said it is excessively aboriginal to foretell however a commercialized warfare with the United States and U.S. President Donald Trump's annexation threats could interaction tourism for the play ahead.

"Anecdotally, we person heard from immoderate tourism businesses that their bookings from Americans are arsenic beardown this twelvemonth arsenic they were past year. But again, we're monitoring trends, we're monitoring question intentions," she said.