Tourism in Richmond County

Tourism in Cape Breton is very much a valuable and substantial industry in the area, bring in revenue to the accommodations sector, restaurants sector, and the retail sector of the island. Tourism on Cape Breton Island is an industry which has to be nurtured and appreciated as growing in importance, drawing visitors from all over the world to our doors. It is very important that each area of the island keep those doors open by marketing our areas to their fullest, showcasing the natural beauty, culture, and attributes that we have to offer. If we do not have the belief in our own product and portray it as such, why would we expect to see our market grow. Accolades continue to come in regularly on what Cape Breton Island has to offer, including being a number one island destination to visit, the Cabot Trail named as favorite motor cycle route in the world, the Bras d'Or Lakes Inn named as one of the top small luxury accommodations to stay at in Nova Scotia, Louisbourg's sea food producers having the best lobster and crab at a prominent world food show and the list continues. We have to be proud of our industry and take our place on the world's stage. If we believe in our product and our area, others will to. All over the Island our local tourism associations, in partnership with our municipal government, work very hard to promote their areas, creating activities and events that attract visitors. Destination Cape Breton Association continues to increase our profile and market Cape Breton Island as a world class destination, at major travel shows such as Saltscapes, The Atlantic Motorcycle and ATV Show and at other key events across Canada and the US.

Visitors use the VICs for many reasons. Destination Cape Breton, which operates the Visitor Information Centres on Cape Breton Island, have described the value of VICs in their marketing plan for 2011 in the following terms: "As far as DCBA is concerned our VIC Counselors are a critical part of our marketing efforts. Visitor Information Services represent an excellent opportunity to drive incremental tourism revenues in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. In essence, Visitor Information Services implies everything from a well designed Travel Guide, a visitor-friendly web-site, an effective and efficient central reservation service, and an enlightened staff of hosts who are well prepared to “sell” our product to the world."

Stats for visitors to Cape Breton Island, who were counselled by DCBA's VIC staff between 2006 to 2010 show that we are still seeing very good numbers. In 2006 the VICs saw 95,418 visitors, in 2007 75,905, in 2008 91,329, in 2009 84,767 and in 2010 90,247 visitors.
In a more in depth view for those in the Richmond area, the St. Peter's VIC saw 15,703 visitors in 2006, 15,725 in 2007, 15,755 in 2008, 14,932 in 2009 and 14,867 visitors in 2010. In 2009 and 2010 road construction was taking place on different locations on route #4 and #104, which might have accounted for the slight difference in the numbers.