SaltWire E-Edition

Optimistic outlook for tourism season

The Cat ferry returns to service on May 19 after a three-year absence

TINA COMEAU tina.comeau@saltwire.com

Tourism operators in southwestern Nova Scotia are feeling the most optimistic that they have in years as they look ahead to the upcoming season.

“We are hearing from our operators that bookings are moving in the right direction. Some operators are fully booked,” says Neil MacKenzie, executive director of Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism Association (YASTA).

“The conversations we've had with people while attending travel shows tells us there is a lot of interest in Nova Scotia and that the Nova Scotia brand is still very strong,” he says.

MacKenzie says the return of The Cat ferry is of massive importance to the tourism industry, not just in southwestern N.S, but the province as a whole. In 2019 the season didn't happen because of construction at the terminal in Bar Harbor. In 2020 and 2021 the service was canceled because of the COVID pandemic.

“What motivates visitors to take the ferry is the thought of traveling to all of Nova Scotia. Visitors want to do things and have great experiences when they are here,” MacKenzie says.

“They want to come to

Nova Scotia to see whales or vineyards, stay in Halifax and see the city or visit the Cabot Trail. All these locations and many more motivate visitors in the North East US to take the ferry, and all of Nova Scotia sees the benefit,” he says. “YASTA also continues to work with our partners to ensure we have great products here and experiences that will keep visitors in our destination too. But the fact is visitors will travel throughout the province and spend their money throughout the province.”

RETURN OF THE CAT

The Cat ferry service runs May 19 to Oct. 10 and is a three-and-a-half-hour crossing.

“Bookings have been strong since we opened reservations, but we remain cautious because the market is very dynamic, and challenges remain,” says Rhonda Latter, Bay Ferries' director of Corporate Services.

She says feedback from the tourism industry about the return to service has been “extremely positive.”

Bay Ferries says it is doing all it can to help support

Nova Scotia's tourism sector as it recovers from years of losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes an earlier start date for the ferry and intensifying its marketing campaign.

“We are pleased with the current level of market awareness. Measurements indicate that awareness is rising rapidly,”

Latter says.

Bay Ferries has been working closely with Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism Association, Tourism Nova Scotia, and Maine Tourism to promote travel between Canada and the U.S.

Of course, COVID still remains on the radar. Keeping travelers, communities and employees safe remains a top priority.

“Masking is not mandatory on any of our ferry services, but we do strongly recommend that passengers wear a face mask,” Latter says.

“We also have an extensive COVID-19 management plan – and other strong sanitation protocols – for the service. Further information is on our website under ‘Safe at Sea.'”

Also, documentation as part

of the federal government's ArriveCAN program continues to be a requirement for anyone entering Canada by air, sea, or land.

While The CAT is a U.S.flagged vessel leased from the US Navy – therefore requiring that the core operating crew be U.S. citizens – the service does employ Nova Scotians.

“We have a combination of Canadian and U.S. personnel onboard. The customer experience representatives, the onboard catering team, and the onboard retail team are from Yarmouth. The terminal staff, yard staff, and overnight maintenance staff are also from Yarmouth,” Latter says, noting the vessel's operational base is Yarmouth.

“The vessel undertakes pre-season preparations in Yarmouth, overnights in Yarmouth, and is alongside there on non-operational days,” Latter says.

“The vessel is being fully stocked by local Canadian suppliers and shipboard personnel from the U.S. are being housed in Yarmouth. As well, the operating schedule deriving from the Yarmouth operational base supports southwest Nova Scotia’s accommodation industry.”

Of course, gas and diesel costs are at record highs with little relief in sight in the foreseeable future. For the tourism industry that does lead to questions about how far people may be willing to drive on vacations. On the flip side, perhaps it will entice them more to use ferries as a traveling option. Then there is the question of what impact the higher costs will have on the ferry operation itself.

“Today’s high fuel cost is a major challenge for the entire transportation sector and for rubber tire tourism traffic. Taking The CAT eliminates highway miles and reduces fuel costs,” says Latter. “In addition, Bay Ferries partners with Irving Oil to offer fuel saving incentives to customers in peak summer months. Our Nova Scotia resident discount will also reduce overall costs for those who qualify.”

That discount sees Nova Scotians saving 50 per cent on passenger fares all season long on The Cat.

Children under six also ride for free all season.

RECOVERING FROM COVID

The impacts of the COVID pandemic since March 2020 have been very challenging for tourism operators both locally and throughout the province.

“We’ve lost a few restaurants and some tourism operators have closed their businesses. But many changed their business models and adjusted as best they could to the shutdowns, travel restrictions and occupancy limitations,” says MacKenzie.

He says they have seen positive things happening in spite of the pandemic. For instance, the Yarmouth & Acadian Shores region sold more hotel rooms in 2021 than it did in 2019. New tourism experiences and operations have started up. A new hotel, TRU by Hilton, was opened by Acadia First Nations in Yarmouth last year.

“Our destination and many others also received a lot of support from our partners like ACOA, Tourism Nova Scotia, TIANS and the province of Nova Scotia. Thankfully, YASTA was able to leverage this support and make the best of a bad situation,” MacKenzie adds. “We also learned a lot about the Atlantic Canadian market and know we need to continue to have a presence in our larger regional market.”

During the pandemic when restrictions were lifted, staycations became more of a thing. Nova Scotians discovered and explored the province and many were surprised and excited by what they found in their own backyards.

MacKenzie says the reality is the industry needs to get back to the path of growth it was on prior to the pandemic. In both 2020 and 2021, the Nova Scotia tourism economy saw a loss of $1.6 billion in revenue, compared to 2019 when provincial tourism revenue was $2.6 billion.

“We need a really strong year, a coordinated provincial effort and a continued and steadfast commitment to the ferry service so we can continue to rebuild the market in the U.S. without disruption,” he says.

SUPPORT AND CHALLENGES

In March, the provincial government announced a $12-million investment in tourism marketing and digital adoption programming to help strengthen Nova Scotia’s tourism industry in 2022 and beyond.

The funding is aimed at helping tourism accommodations to implement marketing activities, while also implementing regional marketing initiatives aimed at attracting visitors to Nova Scotia and

encouraging them to experience different parts of the province. Helping tourism operators and event managers enhance their digital marketing and online presence, including online booking capabilities, are also goals of the funding.

Staffing, as it did during the pandemic, remains a major issue for the industry. Organizations such as TIANS (Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia) are working hard to find ways to deal with this. There’s little doubt many workers have left the tourism sector.

“This is really unfortunate because there are a lot of jobs in tourism available,” MacKenzie says, noting the lack of people filling jobs is hindering recovery for the tourism sector.

Two months ago Darlene Grant Fiander, president of TIANS, said the sector was down 20,000 jobs.

“Over the coming months TIANS looks forward to working with government on a strategic rebuilding plan that will support the sector reclaiming its position as Nova Scotia’s No. 1 service export,” she had said in March.

In Yarmouth, a visit by the 157-metre luxury expedition class cruise ship Silver Cloud on May 13 – the first small cruise ship visit since before the pandemic – was considered a kick-off to the tourism season.

Visitors were brought ashore by zodiacs and experienced dining, shopping and

tours of the area.

The fog was so thick in the harbour you actually couldn’t see the cruise ship itself during its visit. Still, its presence was felt, and added to the optimism for the tourism season ahead. The passengers were happy to be visiting Yarmouth.

One woman from Houston, Texas, said she couldn’t wait to go to Tim Hortons. It was the first thing she asked about when they came ashore. She said she and her husband used to visit Canada prior to the pandemic, often going to Ontario, but they’d also been to Nova Scotia in the past too. She was happy to be part of the initial visitors of this new tourism season.

“I’m excited,” she said. “I’m happy to be in Canada.”

Seeing that excitement amongst visitors is what YASTA is hoping for more of. It will continue to market its destination to Nova Scotians, Atlantic Canadians, and to visitors in Ontario and Quebec, which is a popular market for the area. But it still sees the northeastern United States as the region’s biggest opportunity to rebuild and recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

Says MacKenzie, “If we can keep some of the momentum and awareness we’ve hopefully built in Atlantic Canada over the past few years and leverage the opportunity we have with the renewed connection to the North East U.S., I think we’ll be in a good position for sure.”

“Today’s high fuel cost is a major challenge for the entire transportation sector and for rubber tire tourism traffic. Taking The CAT eliminates highway miles and reduces fuel costs,” Rhonda Latter Bay Ferries’ director of Corporate Services

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2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

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