BY BRENT FOX

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

Tourism – especially in the Annapolis Valley – seems to be holding its own this season.

Visitors to Nova Scotia numbered more than 163,000 in May, the same as in May 2006.

In May provincially there were 2,800 fewer American visitors than the previous year; a decline of 14 per cent. About 1,000 fewer people from other countries – a 17 per cent decline – visited in May. But visitors from Ontario increased 21 per cent and western Canada 37 per cent, representing 8,000 people.

Road travel to Nova Scotia was down in May, but air travel was up three per cent.

All regions in the province reported increases in room accommodation sales.

Wandlyn Inn manager Tom Fredericks said, “we’re pretty well on par with last year.” But people are tending to stay more than one night.

This could be due in part, he said, from offering guests information and maps to local attractions. “We’ve been doing more of that.”

People want to know about the beaches and tides, the local wineries, shopping and the Oaklawn Zoo, he noted.

“We’ve been sort of marketing the Wandlyn as, here are all the things you can do within a 20-minute drive.

“Visitors are definitely from Canada,” Fredericks said. “There are fewer out-of-country license plates than last year.”

However, there are a lot of Alberta, Ontario and Quebec visitors, along with the usual good mix of Maritime traffic.

As well, Fredericks pointed out, “it appears we’re seeing a little rise in families travelling.” In the recent past, it was generally couples.



Reasonable season

Old Orchard Inn manager Judy Saunders says, “we’ve been having a reasonable season. We’re seeing some Ontario license plates.”

The number of visitors from the United States is the same as last year. But there are also twice as many European visitors, the result of direct airlines from that continent.

However, this is in the face of the strong Canadian dollar and its impact on American visitors. In this situation, tourism can become an export industry.

As well, Saunders wonders what impact the emergence of the cruise ship industry in Atlantic Canada has had on land-based tourism in the past 10 years.

Wolfville visitor information centre manager Marie Burbidge said that June was up in numbers of people coming, by 1,633 compared to 1,565 in June, 2006. There was a total of 2,763 visitors from April to June, which was also an increase. “This is quite encouraging,” she said. “There’s an increase. That’s for sure.”

As for attractions, Burbidge said, “always the tides. They want to experience the tides.” There’s also Grand-Pre National Historic Park and “wineries have now become quite popular,” she said.

Scenic sites such as Blomidon and the Acadia University Irving Centre’s botanical gardens are key attractions and the university’s camps and conferences bring visitors.

Sporting events such as the Gunn Baldursson Memorial soccer tournament also prove to be draws.

Burbidge noted a general shift in tourist timing in recent years. For example, seniors have moved from May to September in order to experience the fall colours.



Nova Scotians visiting

Kentville visitor centre assistant manager Daisy Day said that 927 people had come by the centre in June alone this year, many from Ontario and Alberta.

Day noted there are also many from Nova Scotia. “It’s nice that people from our own province are visiting,” she said.

There are still some from the New England states and even some from as far away as Georgia, Day noted. As well, she said, “it’s nice to see some from Europe. We’ve had quite a few from Germany.”

Day said that everybody is really friendly, though the weather hasn’t been that great.

Destinations Southwest Nova executive director Madonna Spinazola said that visitors are up five per cent in the Valley in May for a year-to-date increase of one per cent.

As well, Spinazola said that small operators are finding they’re booked for July, which hasn’t been the case in the past.

She noted that American traffic to the region itself has benefited from the ferry service. She said that things tend to be very different from July 4 on, including an anticipated big influx of American visitors after that date.