Existing Nature Tourism

Nature tourism does exist, to a degree, and is centered on the experience that the natural
landscape offers, according to the Travel Trade and Nova Scotia Nature Tourism Operators survey
which says “both groups stressed the importance of the authentic nature experience.”22 Existing nature
tourism was examined from two viewpoints, with the first being a consumer survey and the second
being 19 nature tourism operators throughout the province. The consumer survey was administered by
phone in 4 major urban markets: New York, Toronto, Halifax, and Moncton. The nature tourism
market within these four selected cities totaled 5.7 million people with New York having the biggest
nature tourism market.23 On the other side, the nature tourism operators surveyed stated that they had
received 50-10,000 person visits each year with 45% of their nature tourism clients coming from
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Nova Scotia, 10% from the rest of Canada, 36% from the U.S., and 8 % from overseas. Existing
nature tourism and the development of potential nature tourism markets and facilities within Nova
Scotia is clearly the way of the future. “The travel trade in Europe and North America is currently
placing strong emphasis on nature tourism potential. They are generally experiencing significant
growth in this market segment and an increasing demand for specific activities in such areas as soft
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adventures.”