Here for
Cape Breton’s
Tourism Industry
Official Tourism Resource & Information for the Coronavirus Disease
(COVID-19) Pandemic
The Current Situation on Cape Breton Island
Last updated: July 9th, 2021
Phase 3 of Nova Scotia’s reopening plan is in effect. During phase 3 of Nova Scotia’s reopening plan, we can continue to expand social activities and gatherings and start to remove restrictions from travel. Plan phases are based on the ongoing progress of vaccination rates and improvements of public health and healthcare indicators. Phase 4 is expected to begin on July 14th. Please visit the following website for more information regarding Nova Scotia’s reopening plan.
As of July 9th, Nova Scotia’s Eastern Zone, which includes Cape Breton, has 16 active cases of Covid-19. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is actively monitoring the current outbreak of Covid-19, and working with the World Health Organization along with other international partners.
Travel to Nova Scotia
For everyone who is considering traveling to Nova Scotia please check the following link for the most up-to-date information.
The Atlantic Bubble
Starting 30 June 2021, if you’re traveling from New Brunswick, you don’t need to complete the Safe Check-in Form or self-isolate when you arrive in or return to Nova Scotia if you haven’t traveled outside Atlantic Canada in the 14 days before arriving in the province. If you’ve already self-isolated in New Brunswick, you can enter Nova Scotia without self-isolating again. If you traveled from New Brunswick before 30 June 2021 and are self-isolating in Nova Scotia, you can stop self-isolating. Self-isolation requirements may change based on the border strategy and epidemiology of each province.
Resources:
Covid-19 Gathering Limits
You need to follow gathering limits unless your group has an exemption identified in the Health Protection Act Order (PDF). The latest Covid-19 gathering limits can be found here.
What Does Phase 3 Look Like:
Businesses & Services
For information regarding personal and wellness services, including, restaurants, bars, casinos, and retail shopping centers please click here.
Recreational Activities
For information regarding recreational services and outdoor activity, please check the following link.
Events and Conferences
While we don’t yet know the full impact this outbreak will have on the 2021 tourism season on the Island, the following events have been postponed.
- The IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship has been canceled
- The Vince Ryan Hockey Tournament,
- The cruise season has been delayed until February 2022; and
- Bookings are being affected.
There is Support for the Tourism Industry
There have been several programs established by the Rankin Government to assist Tourism businesses during these unprecedented times, including the following:
Small Impact Business Grant Part 3 – Now Available
This will provide grants of up to $5,000 for Nova Scotia businesses directly affected by the April 2021 restrictions. Eligible businesses will receive a one-time grant of 15 percent of their sales revenue for April 2019 or February 2020, up to a maximum of $5,000. For businesses established after March 15, 2020, the grant amount will be calculated as 15 percent of the sales revenue for any month from April 2020 to March 2021. The applicant can choose the month. For more information please check here.
Tourism Accommodations Real Property Tax Rebate Program Part 2 – Now Available
Businesses applying for this program must meet the definition of a roofed accommodation as set out in the Tourist Accommodation Registration Act, be registered as a host under the act, have more than five rooms available to rent, not be in arrears of property taxes or property tax installment payments and have experienced a year-over-year revenue loss of at least 30 percent from the previous year. For more information please contact TARPTR@novascotia.ca, or check here.
Small Business Real Property Tax Rebate Program – Deadline July 9th, 2021
This program will be available to restaurants offering in-person dining service, bar or licensed drinking establishments, fitness, recreational, and leisure facilities including gyms, yoga studios, indoor play areas, arcades, climbing facilities, dance programs and music lessons, personal services including hair salons, barbershops, spas, nail salons, and body art establishments, independent retailers with a physical retail location and live performing arts. For more information please contact [email protected], or check here.
Tourism Accommodations Restart Customer Attraction Program – Applications Available
- $10.5 million program administered by Tourism Nova Scotia
- eligible businesses must be registered as a host under the Tourist Accommodations Registration Act, offering at least one or more rooms to the traveling or vacationing public, and be HST registered
- funds may be used for various advertising options, developing packages and incentives to encourage overnight stays, such as an overnight plus a bottle of local wine, or family weekend packages with free breakfasts, as well as customer-focused upgrades or amenities
- applications open June 23
Small Tourism Operators Restart Program – Applications Available
- $2 million program administered by Tourism Nova Scotia
- eligible businesses include tour operators, scenic and sightseeing transportation operators, outdoor adventure operators and outfitters, businesses that operate nature parks and zoos, amusement or theme parks, recreational vehicle parks, and campgrounds, and travel agencies
- eligible operators must be HST registered
- applications open June 23
Destination Cape Breton’s Recovery Plans
We’ve been working to ensure that when the time is right we are ready to promote and encourage visitors to our beautiful island:
- Industry Communication
- Advocacy for the Industry
- Contingency Planning, and
- Short-Term Initiatives
Adjustments
Preparing
As more businesses, organizations, services, and public spaces reopen or adjust their operations, we need to work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help keep everyone safe. Learn more about how businesses and organizations need to prepare for reopening.
Destination Cape Breton hosted our Reopening Strategy Webinar on June 11, 2020, which included some next steps for tourism operators, an overview of our Reopening strategy, and some Q&A. If you were unable to attend the webinar, please feel free to review it at the link below.
Update Your Listings
We recommend updating your business, package/experience, and event listings on novascotia.com (which feeds to visitcapebreton.com) to communicate any operational changes related to COVID-19, to help visitors with their trip planning. For more information click here.
You should update your own website and social channels as well.
Tourism & COVID-19 News
For more information on tourism and Covid-19, please click the following link.