COMMUNITY REPORT 2019 VISITOR EXIT SURVEY TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Visitation by Region 3 Capture Rate 8 Detailed Visitation 17 Community Visitation Tables 25 INTRODUCTION This report presents the results of the community visitation section of the 2019 Nova Scotia Visitor Exit Survey (VES). The 2019 VES report is based on 3,283 questionnaires that were completed by overnight visitors aged 18 years or older who stayed at least one night in Nova Scotia during the calendar year of 2019. Questionnaires were completed using an online survey. Visitors exiting the province through the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Digby, Caribou, or Highway 104 (Cobequid Pass) received a VES Response Card. The Survey Response Card invited non-resident visitors who had spent at least one night in Nova Scotia to complete the VES. Data were weighted by origin and mode of travel to reflect the overall non-resident overnight visitor population. This report is a companion document to the main VES report. The results reported here detail travel to various communities and tourism regions within the province as well as the capture rate for the tourism regions. Capture rate identifies where visitors go within a particular region, using those who visited the region as a base. It should be noted that capture rate values are not adjusted for the size of the region; comparative analysis of capture rates within a particular region is fine, however, analysis between regions of different sizes is not recommended due to the variance in visitation rates across the geographic regions. - Page 1 - CONTACT For further information on this study, please contact: Tourism Research Research, Planning and Decision Support Tourism Nova Scotia 8 Water Street PO Box 667 Windsor, Nova Scotia B0N 2T0 Telephone: (902) 798-6700 Email: [email protected] Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted without the express permission of Tourism Nova Scotia. - Page 2 - VISITATION BY REGION NOVA SCOTIA TOURISM REGIONS Cape Breton Bay of Fundy & Northumberland Island Annapolis Valley Shore Halifax Yarmouth & Eastern Shore Acadian Shores South Shore Region - Page 4 - VISITATION BY REGION Overall Visitors % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, but not overnight % spending at least one night 12% 17% 27% 12% 23% 11% 31% 3% 25% 5% 3% 14% 66% 3% % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight 18% 37% 18% 4% 30% 73% 7% - Page 5 - VISITATION BY REGION Pleasure Visitors % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, but not overnight % spending at least one night 20% 28% 30% 15% 26% 12% 29% 4% 35% 7% 4% 19% 65% 4% % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight 29% 41% 22% 6% 40% 72% 9% - Page 6 - VISITATION BY REGION VFR* Visitors % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, but not overnight % spending at least one night 8% 11% 27% 11% 23% 13% 34% 2% 20% 4% 2% 13% 58% 4% % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight 12% 38% 19% 3% 25% 68% 7% * Visiting friends or relatives - Page 7 - CAPTURE RATE CAPTURE RATE Capture rate identifies where visitors go within a particular region, only among those who visited the region. For example, among all visitor parties who visited the Bay of Fundy & Annapolis Valley 39% visited Truro. - Page 9 - BAY OF FUNDY & ANNAPOLIS VALLEY - CAPTURE RATE Truro 39% Wolfville 25% Digby 18% Annapolis Royal 13% Capture Rate Kentville 12% Pleasure Visitor VFR* Visitor Truro 36% 46% Grand Pré 11% Wolfville 24% 35% Digby 28% 12% Windsor 8% Annapolis Royal 17% 13% Kentville 8% 21% Berwick 6% Grand Pré 15% 10% Windsor 6% 16% Masstown 6% Berwick 4% 14% Masstown 5% 8% Blomidon 5% Overall % who Blomidon 7% 6% stopped for at least Middleton 4% 9% Middleton 5% 30 minutes, or overnight Bridgetown 4% 6% Bridgetown 5% 37% * Visiting friends or relatives - Page 10 - SOUTH SHORE - CAPTURE RATE Peggy's Cove 59% Lunenburg 50% Mahone Bay 34% Capture Rate Pleasure Visitor VFR* Visitor Chester 18% Peggy's Cove 72% 48% Lunenburg 59% 47% Mahone Bay 38% 38% Bridgewater 15% Chester 17% 26% Bridgewater 13% 22% Liverpool 11% 10% Liverpool 9% Shelburne 7% 6% LaHave 6% 7% Shelburne 6% Overall % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight LaHave 6% 30% * Visiting friends or relatives - Page 11 - HALIFAX REGION - CAPTURE RATE Halifax 80% Capture Rate Dartmouth 35% Pleasure Visitor VFR* Visitor Halifax 85% 88% Dartmouth 32% 52% Bedford 12% 24% Sackville 7% 17% Bedford 15% Overall % who stopped for at least Sackville 9% 30 minutes, or overnight 73% * Visiting friends or relatives - Page 12 - EASTERN SHORE - CAPTURE RATE Musquodoboit Harbour 29% Sheet Harbour 21% Capture Rate Pleasure Visitor VFR* Visitor Sherbrooke 16% Musquodoboit Harbour 27% 28% Sheet Harbour 29% 11% Sherbrooke 21% 8% Guysborough 13% 2% Guysborough 9% Middle Musquodoboit 6% 11% Canso 7% 5% Middle Musquodoboit 8% Overall % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight Canso 6% 7% * Visiting friends or relatives - Page 13 - NORTHUMBERLAND SHORE - CAPTURE RATE Antigonish 35% New Glasgow 31% Pictou 26% Capture Rate Pleasure Visitor VFR* Visitor Antigonish 41% 27% Amherst 20% New Glasgow 26% 35% Pictou 27% 26% Amherst 21% 18% Tatamagouche 13% Tatamagouche 15% 11% Caribou 9% 8% Caribou 8% Pugwash 6% 5% Oxford 4% 4% Pugwash 5% Overall % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight Oxford 5% 18% * Visiting friends or relatives - Page 14 - CAPE BRETON ISLAND - CAPTURE RATE Baddeck 40% Chéticamp 33% Sydney 32% Capture Rate Ingonish 28% Pleasure Visitor VFR* Visitor Cape Breton Highlands… 22% Baddeck 48% 23% Louisbourg 17% Chéticamp 42% 10% Sydney 30% 41% Inverness 16% Ingonish 35% 7% Pleasant Bay 15% Cape Breton Highlands 27% 9% National Park North Sydney 13% Louisbourg 21% 10% Margaree 12% Inverness 19% 7% Cape North 11% Pleasant Bay 19% 4% North Sydney 11% 17% Port Hawkesbury 10% Margaree 14% 5% Mabou 9% Cape North 14% 2% St. Peter's 9% Port Hawkesbury 9% 12% Overall % who Whycocomagh 9% stopped for at least Mabou 10% 6% 30 minutes, or St. Peter's 8% 13% Glace Bay 8% overnight Whycocomagh 8% 12% Port Hastings 8% 18% Glace Bay 7% 12% Iona 5% Port Hastings 9% 4% Iona 5% 4% - Page 15 - * Visiting friends or relatives 17 YARMOUTH & ACADIAN SHORES - CAPTURE RATE Yarmouth 84% Capture Rate Pleasure Visitor VFR* Visitor Yarmouth 85% 86% Church Point 23% 26% Church Point 25% Pubnico 14% 18% Pubnico 14% Overall % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight 4% * Visiting friends or relatives - Page 16 - DETAILED VISITATION COMMUNITY VISITATION Tourism Regions % Visitor Parties 79% 74%74%73% 37%38%38%37% 32% 30% 27%29% 29% 21%22% 21% 18% 19%18% 18% 7% 7% 8% 7% 5% 5% 6% 4% Bay of Fundy and South Shore Halifax Region Eastern Shore Northumberland Cape Breton Island Yarmouth and Annapolis Valley Shore Acadian Shores 2010 2015 2017 2019 % of visitor parties who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight - Page 18 - TRIP PURPOSE Tourism Regions % Visited by Trip Purpose 86% 72% 68% 41% 38% 40% 29% 23% 25% 22% 16% 19% 12% 9% 7% 8% 6% 6% 3% 3% 1% Bay of Fundy and South Shore Halifax Region Eastern Shore Northumberland Cape Breton Island Yarmouth and Annapolis Valley Shore Acadian Shores Pleasure VFR Business % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight - Page 19 - MARKET OF ORIGIN - OVERALL Tourism Regions % Visited by Market of Origin 87% 73% 69% 48% 43% 44% 45% 42% 36% 30% 27% 25% 26% 15% 17% 15% 9% 6% 4% 6% 7% Bay of Fundy and South Shore Halifax Region Eastern Shore Northumberland Cape Breton Island Yarmouth and Annapolis Valley Shore Acadian Shores Canada US Overseas % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight - Page 20 - MARKET OF ORIGIN - CANADA Tourism Regions % Visited by Canadian Market of Origin 83% 75% 71% 72% 48% 48% 43% 38% 35% 35% 34% 28% 27% 25% 24% 21%23% 14% 11% 11% 8% 8% 6% 6% 4% 3% 5% 5% Bay of Fundy and South Shore Halifax Region Eastern Shore Northumberland Shore Cape Breton Island Yarmouth and Acadian Annapolis Valley Shores Atlantic Canada Quebec Ontario Western Canada % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight - Page 21 - MARKET OF ORIGIN - US Tourism Regions % Visited by US Market of Origin 77% 68% 55% 50% 50% 46% 43% 45% 43% 40% 36% 34% 29% 25% 16% 11% 10% 8% 5% 4% 4% Bay of Fundy and South Shore Halifax Region Eastern Shore Northumberland Cape Breton Island Yarmouth and Annapolis Valley Shore Acadian Shores New England Mid-Atlantic US Other US % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight - Page 22 - AIR VS. ROAD VISITORS Tourism Regions % Visited by Mode of Travel 86% 67% 38% 39% 34% 24% 20% 17% 18% 16% 8% 6% 4% 4% Bay of Fundy and South Shore Halifax Region Eastern Shore Northumberland Cape Breton Island Yarmouth and Annapolis Valley Shore Acadian Shores Air Passenger Vehicle % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight - Page 23 - FIRST-TIME VS. RETURN VISITORS Tourism Regions % Visited by First-time vs. Return Visitors 80% 71% 58% 43% 39% 36% 23% 24% 17% 13% 10% 6% 6% 4% Bay of Fundy and South Shore Halifax Region Eastern Shore Northumberland Cape Breton Island Yarmouth and Annapolis Valley Shore Acadian Shores First-time Visitor Return visitor % who stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight - Page 24 - COMMUNITY VISITATION TABLES COMMUNITY VISITATION TABLES The following tables indicate the proportion of visitors to the province who stopped or stayed in each community or tourism region during their trip. In particular, the tables show: • the percentage of all travel parties that stopped or stayed in a specific community (i.e., stopped for at least 30 minutes, or overnight), • the percentage of all parties that stopped in a particular community (i.e., stopped for at least 30 minutes but not overnight), • the percentage that stayed overnight in a specific community, • the average number of nights spent in each community among those who stayed overnight, and • the capture rate (i.e., among all who visited a region, what percentage visited each community within that region).