Halifax exceeds national expectations when it comes to tourism this year

By CityNews Halifax Staff

Halifax bucked the national trend when it came to tourism recovery in 2023.

According to a report by Destination Canada, the number of overnight leisure and business visits nationwide were expected to fall two percentage points short of 2019 levels by the end of the year.

However, the head of Discover Halifax says HRM is ahead of that curve after a successful 2023.

President and CEO Ross Jefferson says that the municipality has already surpassed 2019’s numbers when it comes to tourism.

“We have seen strong recovery in all of our markets,” he tells CityNew Halifax, adding those numbers were helped by events like The North American Indigenous Games and last winter’s World Juniors Ice Hockey Championship.

“We have seen our conventions business return very strong (and) our business travelers are back, our cruise travelers are back,” he continues. “So we’re really doing quite well on all fronts.”

Jefferson says figures are based on number of hotel room sales, which are up 9.2 percent over 2019 levels.

Destination Canada’s report projected the tourism industry across most of the country wouldn’t return to those levels until 2024.