Tourism Nova Scotia prepares for another year in the 'landscape of uncertainty,' says CEO

As she and her colleagues prepare for another tourism season during a pandemic, Michele Saran says the only thing certain right now is how much uncertainty everyone faces.

The CEO of Tourism Nova Scotia said COVID-19, which last year cost the industry more than $1.5 billion, has members of the sector once again preparing for a year with far fewer visitors and less revenue than usual.

The 2021 cruise ship season has already been cancelled, air travel is all but grounded and the land border between Canada and the U.S. remains restricted for the foreseeable future as both countries try to get the pandemic under control.

That means, like last year, the focus will be on whatever markets are open. In all probability, that means people in Nova Scotia and — hopefully at some point, said Saran — the Atlantic bubble.

"It's less about targeting a specific type of traveller from our former export markets and more about providing life support to the industry from any market that has access and is deemed safe for us," she said in an interview.

Trying to keep Nova Scotians travelling

In that vein, the Crown corporation launched a new winter marketing campaign last week aimed specifically at Nova Scotians, trying to get them travelling within the province this winter. Tourism officials have long talked about extending the season into non-traditional months and Saran said now seemed like the time to give that a real push.

"The pandemic has really forced us to consider and push that opportunity that's always been right in front of us. We're hoping that we can even out the year a little bit and try and find a little bit more business."

There is business to be found. Saran said Nova Scotians spend about $1.2 billion a year on travel outside the province. The goal now is to get some of that money spent here, at businesses that can use all the help they can get.

Through the summer last year, people did buy into the idea of so-called staycations and going places they previously might not have considered for a vacation, said Saran.

While it proved particularly successful in rural areas and at resorts, Saran said hotels in the Halifax area as well as the city's restaurants continue to struggle with the fallout from the pandemic, even as Nova Scotia's COVID rate is the envy of just about everywhere else.

"People have been a little reticent about the urban experience and we're trying to change that with the campaigns that we're doing now and the packages [offered]," she said.

Talks continue with international partners

For now, Saran said she and her team are working on a variety of scenarios so they'll be ready to respond to whatever public health is or is not permitting as summer draws closer. All the while, they have an eye on vaccine rates and hope that 2022 could be a step toward something resembling normal business.

With tour operators and travel marketers usually putting together packages at least a year ahead of when people travel, Saran said she and her team need to continue talking with their international partners, even if the immediate focus is on Nova Scotia travellers and potentially Atlantic neighbours.

"We're definitely working in a landscape of uncertainty, that's for sure. But we'll be ready to push go on any market that opens up, provided public health gives us the go ahead," Saran said.

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