In an industry that relies on people getting out, staying home has had a huge impact on tourism in the province.
Anna Moran, Director of Research and Policy for Tourism Nova Scotia , said tourism is extremely important to the province. In addition to the revenue it brings in it also supports about 40,000 jobs across the province.
The industry also means big money for the province, in fact last year it generated about 2.6 billion in revenue and Nova Scotians generate 38 per cent or about 1 billion of that.
Moran said the pandemic has had a significant impact on tourism globally and Nova Scotia has also taken a massive hit. Those impacts were first felt beginning in March.
“That has continued through April, will continue through May and beyond,” she said.
Tourism Nova Scotia has looked at how tourism revenue is distributed throughout the year and from June-October, the peak season, about 60 per cent of annual tourism revenue is generated. Estimates of non-resident visitors to the province last year was 2.3 Million people from Atlantic Canada, the rest of Canada, the United States and overseas.
“Recovery will start local, that’s what the research has been telling us so we are going to be launching a marketing campaign compelling Nova Scotians to get out there and rediscover everything this province has to offer. The later recovery starts the more significant the impacts will be on our provincial revenues,” she said.
