N.S. luxury resort hopeful of tourism bump amid trade war tensions

The operator of a luxury resort on Nova Scotia's Northumberland Shore believes the Canada-U.S. trade war and a weak Canadian dollar could provide a boost to the tourism industry this year.

Kevin Toth, president of Fox Harb'r Resort in Cumberland County, told CBC News his staff have been hearing from some Canadian guests that they have cancelled travel trips to the United States and are planning to vacation domestically instead.

"So that's very, very encouraging and we're quite excited about that," said Toth. "I think we're well positioned to welcome both our U.S. travellers and certainly our Canadian travellers to the resort for a great season."

Provinces and territories have been reporting increased interest from Canadian tourists in recent months as the "Buy Canadian" movement gains popularity in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods and his repeated threats to annex Canada.

Toth said the resort doesn't want to miss the opportunity to reach the U.S. market given the strength of the American dollar relative to the loonie, but it has increased its domestic marketing budget while continuing to focus on the northeastern U.S. and the Greater Toronto Area, two of its primary markets.

He said it's not yet clear how much U.S. traffic the resort will receive this season but he expects Fox Harb'r to see an overall increase of about five per cent in its tourism numbers, which would enable it to surpass its pre-pandemic levels. 

Too soon to predict 

Tourism Nova Scotia says it's too soon to predict how the tensions between Canada and the United States will impact the province's tourism industry, but it's planning to try to take advantage of the growing staycation trend. 

"We are about to launch a domestic marketing campaign to entice and inspire Canadians to visit Nova Scotia, leveraging the current sentiment around vacationing closer to home," the agency said in an emailed statement to CBC.   

Canadians traditionally make up 87 per cent of all visitors to Nova Scotia, it said, while roughly nine per cent come from the U.S.

The statement said the strength of the U.S. dollar could encourage more Americans to visit. The province's key advertising markets are Atlantic Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, the northeastern U.S., the United Kingdom and Germany, it said. 

Digby welcomes Americans 

Earlier this month, the Digby Area Tourism Association posted a letter on social media to let U.S. visitors know they're still welcome.

Doug Ralph, the organization's tourism development manager, said friends and family in the U.S. who are annual visitors to Nova Scotia had reached out, wondering how they might be received in the area given the ongoing tensions.

"We thought maybe we should say something, maybe we should clear the air," Ralph told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia on Tuesday.

"It came from uncertainty. No one knows what's going to happen. We don't know what's going to happen a week, a month, you know, later on this season." 

In the post, the association highlights the "special relationship" and historical ties between Canada and the United States. 

"So no matter what happens next, know that we will always welcome you with our famous Canadian East Coast Hospitality and we can't wait to see you soon," the letter concludes.

'Going to be a bit ingrained'

Meanwhile, Toth said staff recruitment proved to be a challenge in the wake of COVID-19 but Fox Harb'r is better staffed than it has been in recent seasons and investments to "revitalize" the resort make it more prepared to welcome an increased number of visitors.

He said he expects Canadians may be inclined to continue their efforts to support local businesses no matter what direction the trade war takes.

"I think that's going to be a bit ingrained for a while," Toth said. "I think like myself, not too happy with what's happening and not sure if we want to make investments down in the States, travel investments down in the States. So I think that's what's happening across the country."