IONA, NS — A re-elected Liberal government will invest $5 million over two years to extend the Tourism Digital Assistance Program.

This program received $2.5 million in June, and this additional funding will ensure local tourism businesses have the resources to increase their online presence to attract more customers and adopt digital technologies to improve efficiency and visitor experiences.

Tourism has been one of the leading drivers of Nova Scotia’s economy, bringing in over $2.6 billion before the pandemic and directly supporting 40,000 jobs.

But revenues dropped dramatically to $900 million in 2020 due to COVID.

As Nova Scotia safely reopens, the Nova Scotia Liberal Party encourages all Nova Scotians to rediscover their province. Today, Nova Scotia Liberal leader Iain Rankin visited the Highland Village Museum with Liberal candidate for Victoria — The Lakes, Nadine Bernard, to discuss supports for the tourism sector in the province.

“We live in the most beautiful place in the world,” said Liberal leader Rankin. “We invested $18.2 million to jumpstart our tourism sector this year, including eliminating admission fees for Nova Scotia’s 28 museums for July and August.”

Fees for all provincially run ferry services have also been permanently eliminated, allowing for Nova Scotians to keep more money in their pockets to spend locally.

Two of the provincial ferries – Englishtown and Little Narrows – are in the constituency being contested by Liberal candidate for Victoria – The Lakes, Nadine Bernard.

“Permanently eliminating the ferry fees speaks to the Rankin government’s efforts to make this province more affordable,” said Ms. Bernard. “It also helps to make our provincial attractions even more accessible.”

This plan will:

• Support tourism jobs by investing in digital marketing supports that attract customers to local tourist destinations.
• Provide support for tourism operators by providing up to $5000 to improve digital services.