South Coast Today - Nova Scotia tourism

McNeil govt being dishonest with tourism industry, says Tory MLA

Timothy Gillespie — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 15:41:44 +0000

SCT CARTOON FROM FEB 10
Tourism call centre on chopping block? "Tell us the plan for Yarmouth. Just be honest. Stop stringing people along”

Argyle-Barrington MLA Chris d’Entremont says in a news release Thursday that the McNeil government must tell tourism operators the fate of the Yarmouth Visitor Information Centre.

“It’s time for the Liberals to be honest with Nova Scotians,” says d’Entremont. “Will the McNeil government finally rule out closing the Yarmouth Visitor Information Centre?”

Lucien LeBlanc, the owner and operator of Tusket Island Tours, says closing the local information centre would be harmful to his business, according to the PC Caucus.

“We would be extremely discouraged if any visitor information centers were closed down. It would certainly hurt our business, as well as many others like us,” says LeBlanc in the release. “We are very versatile with our tours. This versatility we offer customers cannot simply be advertised by social media or pamphlets sitting on a rack in a gas station. Social media and travel websites have come a long way, but they cannot compare to the pride and knowledge of the local employees who grew up here.”

The Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia (TIANS) also voiced their concerns over the possible closure of visitor information centres across the province. In a statement released on February 16, the association said that important questions directed to Tourism Nova Scotia remain unanswered and that eliminating important tourist infrastructure is “counter-intuitive” to growth in the industry.

Currently, there are six provincial centres: Amherst, Halifax Airport, Halifax Waterfront, Peggy’s Cove, Port Hastings and Yarmouth. A PC Caucus representative told SCT they have has been hearing that services are being centralized to Halifax. The Yarmouth call centre also appears to be on the chopping block, according to Cuacus sources.

"Tourism is a growing economic driver for rural parts of the province, " says d’Entremont. "Losing this Visitor Information Centre and call centre would be a big blow to the local area. Meanwhile, southwest Nova Scotians are eagerly awaiting an announcement for a ferry in Yarmouth.

When asked about possible closures, a Tourism Agency spokesman emailed, "Tourism Nova Scotia is reviewing all programs and operations to determine how they align with our goal of attracting more first-time visitors to help grow Nova Scotia’s economy. This work is ongoing, and no decision has been made on the future of provincially-operated visitor information centres. Tourism Nova Scotia recognizes that visitor servicing is important. How it relates to doubling tourism revenues and attracting more first-time visitors is part of our ongoing discussions."

“The uncertainty and chaos the Liberal government is creating undermines the entire tourism industry. Just be honest. Stop stringing people along,” says d’Entremont. “Small businesses operators and the people who rely on these jobs need to be part of the plan and the solution. Keeping them in the dark helps nobody.”

d’Entremont is calling on the McNeil government to be honest with tourism operators and come clean today.

“Many small businesses rely on these tourism centres and their knowledgeable staff to survive. Their marketing plans are already in place for this summer. They depend on these centres,” says d’Entremont. “It’s past time to tell us his decision. Premier McNeil must come clean about his intentions.”

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Tourism group not informed about visitor centre cuts

Timothy Gillespie — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 17:49:31 +0000

YARMOUTH VISITOR CENTRE AT FERRY TERMINAL ON CHOPPING BLOCK
"We do not have information that suggests elimination of face-to-face services is the best way forward for Nova Scotia,"

Revised [see below]:
No industry consultation

The Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia (TIANS) is "very concerned" with the announcement that the Province is considering closure of all provincial Visitor Information Centres (VICs), according to a news release and interview with TIANS executive director Diane Grant Fiander, who told SCT TIANS was not informed about the planned cuts.

The group says it believes instead that "a comprehensive review of how we service visitors would ensure that decisions are being made in support of growing the visitor economy."

In an interview with SCT, Grant Fiander said that TIANS was not notified by Tourism Nova Scotia about the planned closures, much in the same way the previous closures of major centres at Digby and Pictou were closed with no indutry consultation.

No answers from government
"We've been hearing rumblings about the closures for awhile," she said, "and we have been asking the government what we think are pertinent questions." The questions, she added, have remained unanswered.

There are a number of regional centres (non-provincial) operating in communities, explains the release, adding that most of them have very limited resources. The centres rely on the federal summer jobs program for staff and are supported by municipal and business groups in the regions, with a small amount of funding from Tourism Nova Scotia, if they meet certain criteria. There are issues around quality and capacity with some of the regional centres, says TIANS, adding that "visitor servicing must be considered in totality of Nova Scotia as a destination."

Revised copy:
Bad budget coming?
Inverness PC MLA Allan MacMaster says in a news release Friday, "Stephen McNeil’s evasiveness concerning the future of the province’s Visitor Information Centres may be a sign of another bad budget for rural Nova Scotia."

“Seventy-five thousand people can’t be wrong,” said MacMaster referring to the number of tourists who visited the Port Hastings visitor centre last year. “It’s time for the government to rule out closing the province’s Visitor Information Centres today. If they are going to be closed this summer, the Premier should not bury it in a spring budget.”

It appears Visitor Information Centres are getting set to join satellite courthouses, land registry offices and rural schools that have already been closed, added the releasde. "Tourism is a growing economic driver for rural parts of the province. The internet cannot replace the warmth and personal service offered at the VICs."

MacMaster says closing the rest of the province’s centres will not help the Ivany goal to double tourism revenues by 2024.

When asked in January about the closures, adds the release, acting deputy minister of Business told the Legislature’s Economic Development Committee, that “no decision has been made.

No promised review
When the Digby and Pictou Provincial Centres were closed last year, TIANS says it was told that there would be a strategic review of visitor servicing in totality and investment in best-in-class locations. "This thoughtful review has not happened and here we are, a year later, with the possibility of losing some of the most strategic locations and opportunities for sales."

"We do not have information that suggests elimination of face-to-face services is the best way forward for Nova Scotia," says the release. "Technology is changing the way people travel and we agree the role of visitor centres needs to evolve, with a focus on increasing economic activity. There are examples all over the world of how destinations are adapting to better meet the needs of the global customer. How will we define our visitor services to best capture the essence of Nova Scotia and position ourselves for incremental economic growth."

No effective research
Currently, the Provincial Centres are relied on heavily by operators to book business, especially at strategic locations, exlpains TIANS, who adds that they are "very concerned that there has been no research done to determine the economic impact on tourism businesses, as a result of the closures. One operator has reported business referrals from provincial centres were in excess of $30,000.00 in 2015."

In the fall of 2015, in an effort to understand this issue, TIANS says it posed a number of questions to Tourism Nova Scotia:

Where does the elimination of this tourism infrastructure fit into the 2013 Industry led Tourism Strategy?
Has there been any research to determine the impact on local industry with regards to direct referrals or bookings? Are you aware of current economic impact from sales activity?
The three entry points of Amherst, Yarmouth and Port Hastings have unique opportunities for influencing sales. Have there been alternate options considered, that could see a transfer of ownership with declining financial support over a designated period to municipal and private interest? Other than declining visitation numbers at the Centres; what other factors were considered?
Peggy’s Cove is a provincial icon that attracts almost 600,000 visitors a year. As Tourism Nova Scotia develops its Icon Strategy, how will the lack of visitor services affect future plans for commercialization at this site?
Over the past few years, Government has made a concerted effort to move “good jobs” into rural communities with the relocation of many government services; how many positions will be affected in the rural regions by the proposed closures? What are the proposed savings? Are the savings being secured by Tourism Nova Scotia for reinvestment in the tourism industry?

Growing concerns - people want answers
"Over the past few weeks we have heard growing concerns from many operators around the potential closures and the fact that this may simply be a cost cutting measure by government to reduce the tourism budget," TIANS offered. "Understandably people want answers and we need to know how this action supports our collective goal around tourism growth."

TIANS says that for every $1 invested in tourism another $3.2 is generated in the community – eliminating the infrastructure required to sell the province is counter-intuitive to a robust growth agenda.

TIANS says it will continue to push for clarity and answers, "and to ensure that the industry perspective is part of a broader discussion on how we improve our ability to sell Nova Scotia products and experiences." The close of the news release distributed to all members says, "We encourage you to do the same in your community."

SEE PREVIOUS STORY HERE http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/yarmouth-visitor-centre-5-others-close

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Poor Nova Star ridership stats result of shifting tourism dynamics?

SCT and news sources — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 15:52:34 +0000

With only 50% of projected passengers, the ferry service is only of many victims as fewer people choose to visit Nova Scotia.

Deadline Friday for new operator submissions

From Portland Press-Herald: The travel industry and people’s vacation habits are a lot different from what they once were, industry veteran Stephen Pickford told the Press-Herald earlier this week. "There are so many more options,” he said. “The world has changed.”

While critics of the troubled Nova Star service say it would do a lot better if it had a less expensive vessel or a more savvy operator, experts in the ferry and tourism industries say that the ferry service has suffered from large-scale shifts in society and business:

• Americans are taking shorter vacations than they used to. The well-planned, two-week family excursion has been replaced by the last-minute weekend get-away. Many Americans don’t have the time to travel all the way to Nova Scotia and back, no matter which mode of transportation they use.

• The explosive growth of the $117 billion global cruise ship industry has given consumers more options for travel at sea. Between 2009 and 2013, the number of people who took a cruise trip annually rose from 17.8 million to 23 million, an increase of nearly 30 percent, according to industry data. The cruise industry has done this by containing costs and giving consumers value for their money. Holland America, for example, is now selling a seven-day cruise to Montreal from Boston with two stops in Nova Scotia, for $1,391 for two people in an interior cabin, meals included. Nova Star sells a 24-hour cruise for $380 for two people in an interior cabin, meals not included. Three cruise companies currently offer cruises out of Boston – Nova Star’s primary market – that stop in Nova Scotia, and five cruise companies offer trips from New York City. While traffic to Nova Scotia is down elsewhere, cruise ships are on the rise. Since 2000, the number of people calling on the Nova Scotia ports of Halifax and Sydney increased 85 percent, from 162,000 to 300,000.

PRESSURE FROM COMPETITION

The rise of the cruise ship industry has hurt other ferry services. Ryan Burles, president of Black Ball Ferry Line, which runs a daily vehicle and passenger ferry service between downtown Victoria, British Columbia, and Washington state, said passenger volumes have fallen about 25 percent since 2002. While the ferry service is slowly rebounding, he said, competition with the cruise ship industry will prevent the company from achieving its peak passenger levels of the early 1990s.

• Tour buses were a big part of the revenue stream of the Scotia Prince, one of Nova Star’s predecessors, which operated the Yarmouth-to-Portland run from 1983 to 2004. But the tour bus industry has struggled since the late 1990s and early 2000s because of higher insurance costs, consolidation and lower consumer demand, according to a study by the International Business & Economics Research Journal.

• The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, caused the United States to require American citizens entering the U.S. after visiting Canada to show their passports or enhanced driver’s license. Fewer than half of Americans have a passport or passport card, according to the U.S. State Department. Because of increased border security, travelers taking a 24-hour cruise on the Nova Star are now required to get out of bed, leave the ship, clear customs and then get back on the ship.

• Part of the appeal of the Scotia Prince was its casino – a significant draw for passengers. During its operation, the nearest slot machines were in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and later in southeastern Connecticut. Although the Nova Star also has slot machines and card tables, the opening of Hollywood Slots in Bangor in 2005 and the Oxford Casino in 2012 has given consumers who want to gamble other options.

• The deregulation of airlines and the rise of discount airlines have made it cheaper for people to travel by air. It’s not that Americans are flying to Halifax instead of taking the ferry. Rather, they are flying to places like Las Vegas and Orlando.

• Highway construction in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia has made it faster to drive between Maine and Nova Scotia. The biggest improvement was a $500 million project in New Brunswick, completed in 2012, that allowed motorists to travel on a 150-mile divided highway between Calais and the junction with the Trans-Canadian Highway about 75 miles north of Saint John. The improvements have cut about half an hour off the trip. It now takes about 10 hours to drive from Portland to Yarmouth, about the same time as the ferry takes to get there.

• A surge in the value of the Canadian dollar between 2002 and 2013 made travel to Canada more expensive for Americans. The Great Recession in 2008 and 2009 and the slow economic recovery afterward caused many American families to pull back on travel spending. The American dollar has surged in value in the past year, but travel habits have changed, and it may take time for Americans to discover their money has more buying power in Canada now.

• Many families in New England and Nova Scotia have relatives on both sides of the Gulf of Maine. Those ties date back to the 1800s and early 1900s, when thousands of Canadians from the Atlantic Provinces emigrated to the “Boston States.” For generations, a significant percentage of American tourists in Nova Scotia were visiting relatives. But the passage of time and the domestic migration of families to distant parts of the U.S. and Canada have weakened those family bonds, said Glenn Squires, chairman of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia. “When they were young, they would come to Canada every summer,” he said. “Now they don’t come back anymore.”

HEADWINDS FOR FERRIES

All of these factors are changing the tourism landscape in which the ferry service tries to compete. Officials in the Nova Scotia government are trying to decide whether to award the ferry operator, Nova Star Cruises, a contract for next season, or to replace the operator and keep the ship, or perhaps replace the operator and also replace the Nova Star with an older, less expensive ship. The ship is carrying far fewer passengers than the government had anticipated.

A 2011 consultant hired by a Yarmouth business group projected the service would carry 120,000 passengers in the first year. A different panel working for the provincial government in 2012 projected the service would carry 110,000 passengers. Instead, the Nova Star carried 59,000 in its first season. The numbers were expected to improve this year because the company had more time to market its service to bus tour companies, but the ferry is on pace to carry even fewer passengers than its inaugural season. Through August, the ferry had carried 37,800 passengers, a 6 percent decrease from the 40,347 it had carried through August last year. Those numbers are remarkably low compared with the huge numbers of people who rode ferries across the Gulf of Maine in the past. From 1970 through the end of the 2004 season, there was enough market demand to support two ferries that made daily crossings between Maine and Yarmouth – the Scotia Prince operating out of Portland and the high-speed Cat out of Bar Harbor. At the peak in 2002, the two ferry services had a combined ridership of roughly 330,000 people – five times the number that crossed in 2014.

But the numbers dropped rapidly. By 2009, volume on the one remaining ferry service, the Cat, which began splitting its Maine ports of call between Portland and Bar Harbor, had collapsed to just over 75,000. The operator, Bay Ferries, ended the service after the provincial government decided to end its subsidy, which by the last season swelled to $5.6 million.

But it wasn’t just the ferry that saw a decline. The entire province of Nova Scotia saw the number of American visitors plunge. Between 2004 and 2013, the number of people traveling from the United States to Nova Scotia declined from 301,000 to 160,000, a drop of 47 percent, according to statistics provided by Tourism Nova Scotia, a publicly funded corporation that promotes tourism.

CONCERNS IN NOVA SCOTIA

Americans traveling to Nova Scotia by air fell from 114,000 in 2004 to 73,600 in 2013, a 35 percent drop.

Americans traveling to the province by road fell from 188,000 to 86,000, a 54 percent drop. “The decline in the numbers to begin with – ferry or no ferry – is of the most concern to the Nova Scotia tourism department,” said Michael Gardner, president of Gardner Pinfold Consulting, which conducted an analysis of potential ferry traffic for a Yarmouth business group in 2011. He said it should take four or five years for ferry service to build a market after a four-year gap in service. Still, the conditions this year are more favorable for the ferry, he said. The improved U.S. economy and the stronger U.S. dollar should be boosting the service, which historically has counted on Americans for 80 percent of its ticket sales. T

The entire Nova Scotia tourism industry should be prospering under these conditions, he said. “The number of U.S. visitors to Nova Scotia should be higher. They are not,” he said. “There is something else going on in the travel market.” Still, the success of ferries that cross the English Channel – despite opening of the Channel Tunnel and the advent of low-cost airlines – shows there is a solid market of people who prefer to travel by ferries, said Paul Woodbury, a ferry consultant and former operations manager for P&O European Ferries. People with high incomes are looking for authentic experiences, so that means successful operators have to be innovative, challenge convention and develop a real relationship with their passengers, he said. “People have choice after choice after choice nowadays, so simply providing a floating bridge with a nice menu in the restaurant will never quite hit the register high enough in today’s markets,” he said.

Deadline Friday for new operator submissions
The Nova Scotia government has set a Friday deadline for proposals to operate a Yarmouth-to-Portland ferry service next year, a route that has proved problematic for the current operator.

The province issued a request for submissions on Sept. 8 to four potential service providers, including the current operator, Nova Star Cruises, according to the Yarmouth Vanguard. The province wants to enter into a 10-year funding agreement with the winner of the bid by Oct. 31.

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Govt privatizing tourism agency

Timothy Gillespie — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 17:54:30 +0000

Whalen expects tourism revenues to double to $4 billion per year, once govt "gets out of the way"
The McNeil government is transforming the Nova Scotia Tourism Agency into a private-sector-led Crown corporation, according to a release Wednesday.

Finance and Treasury Board Minister Diana Whalen made the announcement at a Chamber of Commerce event in Halifax on Wednesday.

"We can't keep doing what we have always done. Government needs to get out of the way and let the private sector lead," said Ms. Whalen. "Effective April 1, the Nova Scotia Tourism Agency will transform into Tourism Nova Scotia. The creation of a Crown corporation will position us well to double our tourism revenues from $2 billion to $4 billion annually."

Goals set by previous incarnations of tourism organization proved to be well beyond the reach of the province's strugggling industry.

Tourism Nova Scotia will be led by a private-sector board, chaired by Ben Cowan-Dewar, owner of the luxury Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs in Inverness. The board is made up of business owners and leaders from across the province. Patrick Sullivan will continue to serve as C.E.O.

"Nova Scotia is one of the most compelling brands in the country and it's a great day for tourism that government has recognized its importance with this strong initiative," said Mr. Cowan-Dewar. "We, as a board, are excited to represent our industry peers across the province in achieving the audacious One Nova Scotia goal of doubling tourism revenue in the next decade."

He said Nova Scotia's best chance for success is to focus Tourism Nova Scotia on core strengths, such as marketing to visitors from high-potential markets, promoting world-class experiences, and encouraging private-sector investment, while working with industry, government and communities to identify strengths, clarify roles and create opportunities.

"Industry has been requesting more autonomy for some time," said Glenn Squires, chair of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia and owner of Pacrim Hospitality Services. "Industry is ready to lead, and we look forward to learning more about the governance and operations of the new corporation. We want to focus on economic growth and maximizing the effectiveness of our available funds so we get the best return on that investment throughout the entire province."

The One Nova Scotia report confirmed that traditional industries such as tourism will continue to provide essential foundations for Nova Scotia's rural economy and be an important entry point for new immigrants. Tourism is one of the largest and fastest-growing economic sectors in the world, and the leading source of service exports in Nova Scotia.

The release said that the new Crown corporation will be more nimble in its decision- making, allowing the tourism industry to keep pace with trends and opportunities to be more competitive and drive economic growth, though no documents were presented to boil;ster that assertion.

Tourism agency employees will transfer to the new Crown corporation. Legislation to create Tourism Nova Scotia will be introduced during this sitting of the legislature.

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