Cape Breton tourism numbers decline
Cape Breton operators saw declines following record-setting 2017
Cape Breton tourism operators saw widespread declines in visitor traffic over the summer months after the record numbers set in 2017 from the year-long Canada 150 celebrations.
Over the June to September peak tourism period, there were 277,000 licensed room nights sold in Cape Breton for fixed-roof accommodations. It was a decline of 5.8 per cent from the same period in 2017 (294,000 room nights sold).
There were 1.3 million people overall who visited Nova Scotia over the summer recording period – a decline of about two per cent or 27,000 people from last year.
But when comparing this summer’s statistics to JuneSeptember 2016, visitation in 2018 was up eight per cent or by 96,000 visitors.
In releasing the summer numbers Monday, Tourism
Nova Scotia made special note that 2017 was a special year as the federal government celebrated the 150th anniversary of Confederation by offering free admittance into national parks and historic sites. It resulted in spikes in tourism traffic throughout the province.
When comparing this year’s June to September tourism traffic numbers in Cape Breton to 2016 statistics, there’s a drop of 1.1 per cent for summer 2018.
So far this year there have been 367,000 room nights sold
in Cape Breton. That’s down six per cent from last year’s figures.
The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site saw 71,000 visitors over the period from May to September, a drop of 43 per cent from 2017 when a record 138,000 people visited the fortress.
When comparing figures from 2016, the Fortress of Louisbourg recorded 78,000 visitors. That still registers as a decline this year by about nine per cent.
The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck welcomed 73,000 visitors, which was a drop of 23 per cent from 2017 when free admission saw about 111,000 people walk through the museum’s doors.
Michele Saran, CEO of Tourism Nova Scotia, said the numbers reflect a “great year” but more work is required to reach the ambitious goal of $4 billion in tourism revenue by 2024.
“We have to remember we’re competing with the bestknown travel destinations in the world to attract visitors. The more we understand our customers and invest in the experiences, accommodations, spaces and products they want, the more successful we’ll be,” Saran said in a release.
The most recently published report shows Nova Scotia had $2.3 billion in tourism-related income in 2013.
A breakdown of tourism performance statistics is available online at tourismns.ca.