Halifax's cruise ship season boasts another record year. Port Halifax NS reported for 2019 a 2,2% growth in cruise passengers over 2018. A total of 324,828 passengers and crew members arrived this year which is a steady rise from last year's 316,869 vacationers and 292,722 in 2017.
In 2018, 198 cruise ships docked in Halifax Harbour. This year the number went down to 179. Lane Farguson, the port authority's communications manager, attributes that to larger ships carrying more guests. He added the opposite was happening with some of the higher-end ships. They are getting smaller, but the cruise port continues to attract both. Farguson said the tourism industry, tour providers, and vendors helped make their city "an attractive destination."
Also reporting a strong year is Tourism Nova Scotia, with the province receiving a total of 1,247,200 overnight visitors between June-September 2019. That is a 5% drop from last year. The province said tourism operators had a number of issues working against them in 2019, including Hurricane Dorian, the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, and the Yarmouth-Maine ferry not running.