Industry officials say Halifax is enjoying a record-high number of visitors this summer, as the city becomes a must-see destination among Canadian travellers.
But those in the industry and tourists alike are finding Halifax isn’t the tourism bargain it once was compared with the rest of Canada.
Laura Grist and her family are visiting from Vancouver, and says her flight cost nearly two times more than their last trip to the Maritimes.
“The flights to get out here, not only were they packed to the rafters but they were really expensive. A lot more than I thought they’d be for travelling in Canada, for sure,” she said.
“For all (five) of us to come, I think it was $6,400.”
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The CEO of Discover Halifax says the city’s on track for a record tourism year. However, that influx is also causing costs to soar, with hotel prices ranging between $300 to $500 a night.
“We do know that there are less hotels. We have a few hotels that are down in renovations and some that are being built,” said Ross Jefferson.
“So until those come back up, it is a little bit difficult to find a room here in Halifax.”
Jefferson says nearly a million hotel rooms have been booked this year alone.
“We still have some of the lowest rates as we compare against the major cities across the country. But they are going up and they have gone up as compared to last year,” he said.
The organizer for the annual Halifax Busker Festival, Christina Edwards, says her crew will be rescheduling their setup times from evenings to early mornings due to the crowded waterfront.
“There’s just so many people walking around and we’ve got large trucks pulling in,” she said.
“So it becomes a safety issue for the pedestrians and children. So we have to reevaluate what we do for set up next year.”
Matthew Jelley, from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, says domestic travel is up four per cent across the country, and if that demand persists, investments in infrastructure will have to follow.
“Where you have strong demand and where people believe that’s going to be sustained, you’ll see people putting their money in growing their operations and growing the capacity of the industry,” he said.
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