**** CNS Media Release
More Focus on Growing Local Tourism
———————————————————
Tourism Nova Scotia is rolling out new pilot programs and activities to help more Nova Scotia communities grow tourism.
The Compelling Tourism Communities Initiative will help local leaders throughout the province further understand what inspires people to visit and spend time and money in their communities. Programming will include market research, advertising, support for community visitor information centres, website development and digital marketing training.
Tourism Nova Scotia will also provide coaching and tools to help communities identify their strengths and opportunities, set tourism goals, and effectively promote travel to their area.
“Nova Scotia communities are rich with beauty, culture and opportunity,” said Pat Dunn, Minister of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. “After a difficult couple of years, we’re seeing tourism demand returning, and we want all areas of the province to experience the social and economic benefits of tourism.”
The Compelling Tourism Communities Initiative delivers on the Minister’s mandate to develop a provincewide identity program and grow local tourism.
Quotes:
“We are happy to be partnering with Tourism Nova Scotia to showcase the amazing things to see and do in Antigonish. We’re working together on digital advertising to get the word out to more people about why Antigonish is a fantastic place to visit and capturing beautiful photos and videos that we’ll be able to use to promote our community even more.”
– Paul Curry, President, Antigonish Tourism Association, and CEO, Claymore Inn and Suites
Quick Facts:
— the budget for the Compelling Tourism Communities Initiative for 2022-23 is $1.9 million
— some of the programming is aimed at encouraging tourism spending in the fall and winter
— in 2019, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism was a $2.6-billion industry in Nova Scotia
— tourism revenue was about $1 billion in both 2020 and 2021
— in the first half of this year, the official trip planning website NovaScotia.com received more than 12 million visits
Additional Resources:
Compelling Tourism Communities Initiative and related programs: https://tourismns.ca/compelling-tourism-communities-initiative
Nova Scotia’s trip planning website: https://www.novascotia.com/
