N.S. luxury resort hopeful of tourism bump amid trade war tensions

Hannah Veinot · CBC

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The relation of a luxury resort on Nova Scotia's Northumberland Shore believes the Canada-U.S. commercialized warfare and a anemic Canadian dollar could supply a boost to the tourism manufacture this year.

Kevin Toth, president of Fox Harb'r Resort successful Cumberland County, told CBC News his unit person been proceeding from immoderate Canadian guests that they person cancelled travel trips to the United States and are readying to vacation domestically instead.

"So that's very, precise encouraging and we're rather excited astir that," said Toth. "I deliberation we're good positioned to invited some our U.S. travellers and surely our Canadian travellers to the edifice for a large season."

Provinces and territories person been reporting increased involvement from Canadian tourists successful caller months arsenic the "Buy Canadian" question gains popularity in the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs connected Canadian goods and his repeated threats to annex Canada.

Toth said the resort doesn't privation to miss the accidental to scope the U.S. marketplace fixed the spot of the American dollar comparative to the loonie, but it has increased its home selling budget while continuing to absorption connected the northeastern U.S. and the Greater Toronto Area, 2 of its superior markets.

He said it's not yet wide however overmuch U.S. postulation the edifice volition person this play but helium expects Fox Harb'r to spot an wide summation of astir 5 per cent successful its tourism numbers, which would alteration it to surpass its pre-pandemic levels. 

Too soon to predict 

Tourism Nova Scotia says it's too soon to predict how the tensions betwixt Canada and the United States volition interaction the province's tourism industry, but it's readying to effort to instrumentality vantage of the increasing staycation trend. 

"We are astir to motorboat a home selling run to entice and animate Canadians to sojourn Nova Scotia, leveraging the existent sentiment astir vacationing person to home," the bureau said successful an emailed connection to CBC.   

Canadians traditionally marque up 87 per cent of each visitors to Nova Scotia, it said, portion astir 9 per cent travel from the U.S.

The connection said the spot of the U.S. dollar could encourage much Americans to visit. The province's cardinal advertizing markets are Atlantic Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, the northeastern U.S., the United Kingdom and Germany, it said. 

Digby welcomes Americans 

Earlier this month, the Digby Area Tourism Association posted a missive connected societal media to fto U.S. visitors cognize they're inactive welcome.

Doug Ralph, the organization's tourism improvement manager, said friends and household successful the U.S. who are yearly visitors to Nova Scotia had reached out, wondering however they mightiness beryllium received successful the country fixed the ongoing tensions.

"We thought possibly we should accidental something, possibly we should wide the air," Ralph told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia on Tuesday.

"It came from uncertainty. No 1 knows what's going to happen. We don't cognize what's going to hap a week, a month, you know, aboriginal connected this season." 

In the post, the association highlights the "special relationship" and humanities ties betwixt Canada and the United States. 

"So nary substance what happens next, cognize that we volition ever invited you with our celebrated Canadian East Coast Hospitality and we can't hold to spot you soon," the missive concludes.

'Going to beryllium a spot ingrained'

Meanwhile, Toth said unit recruitment proved to beryllium a challenge in the aftermath of COVID-19 but Fox Harb'r is amended staffed than it has been successful caller seasons and investments to "revitalize" the edifice make it much prepared to invited an accrued fig of visitors.

He said helium expects Canadians whitethorn beryllium inclined to proceed their efforts to enactment section businesses nary substance what absorption the commercialized warfare takes.

"I deliberation that's going to beryllium a spot ingrained for a while," Toth said. "I deliberation similar myself, not excessively blessed with what's happening and not definite if we privation to marque investments down successful the States, question investments down successful the States. So I deliberation that's what's happening crossed the country."