Tourism industry in Nova Scotia rebounding to pre-pandemic levels

Compared to 2019, Halifax’s tourism market is down just 15 per cent, representing a significant comeback from the pandemic.

HALIFAX today \Stephen Wentzell

Tourism rates in the Halifax Regional Municipality are down 85 per cent since the onset of the pandemic, according to a tourism executive.

Ross Jefferson, President and CEO of Discover Halifax, says while that number is stark, the tourism market is on the rebound.

Compared to 2019, Halifax’s tourism market is down just 15 per cent, representing a significant comeback from the pandemic.

“Most of the people who travel to this destination … are coming from local markets,” Jefferson said.

Jefferson says while business markets including conferences and cruises have yet to recover, he expects them to rebound in 2022.

“Obviously our international markets are still a challenge to visit from, but that represents a very smaller proportion of the overall visitation,” he said, noting most of Nova Scotia’s tourism comes from the Northeastern United States.

Discover Halifax is responsible for supporting the continued development of the tourism industry in Halifax. The non-profit organization, which is typically funded by a hotel tax on stays in Halifax, received financial support early on in the pandemic from the federal government.

With tourism rates dropping at a significant pace, the shortages have created similar challenges for Discover Halifax. Jefferson says Discover Halifax has a healthy reserve, and they haven’t had to dig too deep into their rainy day fund. Discover Halifax received emergency benefits from the federal wage and rent subsidies, ensuring their organization can stay intact.

The bigger challenge, Jefferson says, isn’t the demand level, but the supply.

“The thing that’s holding back growth today is actually availability of labour, shortages in hotels to clean rooms,” he said. “We’re seeing transportation car rentals being sold out for many months.”

Jefferson says the organization operates on a community-first approach, rather than just a strong economy or tourism market. According to Jefferson, about 4,000 businesses rely on the tourism industry in Halifax, creating 34,000 jobs in HRM alone. Additionally, the market generates close to $50 million in property taxes per year.