Too soon to tell if numbers will rise
It might be a little premature to start jumping for joy about tourists flocking to Nova Scotia, says the chair of the tourism association.
“It’s a good sign, but is it going to fill in or not? It’s hard to say,” said Danny Morton, the chair of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia.
He said he’s hearing murmurs of relief from the association’s members, which include hotel, guest house and restaurant owners.
Most of them are finding that, although fuel prices and the cost of living are skyrocketing, the number of visitors they’re seeing so far this summer is “comfortable.”
“They’re not feeling that they’re down at this point from last year,” he said.
Several B&B owners in Halifax told Metro earlier in the week that business is booming and their rooms are packed. One owner even said her numbers are up by about 40 per cent over last year.
Morton said he’s happy to hear numbers aren’t down, but he’ll be surprised to see any growth in the number of tourists to the province over the summer.
Morton is also the general manager of White Point Beach Resort in southwestern Nova Scotia and said his area is dealing with its own set of difficulties with concerns about the future of the Digby-Saint John ferry service.
But for the most part, what he’s hearing and seeing at his own resort is “so far so good,” he said.
“We’re really hopeful that the season’s going to hold its own,” he said.
