Harbour Islands Visitor Experience Strategy

Location

Georges Island, Nova Scotia
McNabs Island, Nova Scotia

Partners

Tourism Nova Scotia
Parks Canada
Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry

Contact

Questions/Feedback: harbourislands@buildns.ca
Media Enquiries: media@buildns.ca

Build Nova Scotia is leading the development of the Visitor Experience Strategy for the Halifax Harbour Islands.

Read more on the partial opening of Georges Island in the summer of 2020.

Read more on the Georges Island investments.

ABOUT

On February 12, 2019, the Province announced a $100,000 investment in the development of a Visitor Experience Strategy for Halifax’s Harbour islands, focusing on Georges Island National Historic Site and McNabs Island. As a first step to opening the islands to visitation, and in order to understand their potential, Build Nova Scotia has led the development of a Visitor Experience Strategy, including consultations with island partner organizations, businesses and tourism operators, and special interest groups to determine which activities are possible.

We also collected ideas from the public at three pop-up events and through an online survey, and nearly 1,000 people told us what kinds of visitor experiences they were interested in. Thank you to everyone who participated in our engagement period.

The Visitor Experience Strategy is currently being finalized and will be available for download on this page when ready.

Read more on the Georges Island investments from August 2019. The Province has also invested in improvements to the dock and boardwalk at Fisherman’s Cove, which will help improve marine access to McNabs Island. Read more.

Request for Information for Georges Island Seasonal Transportation Options was released in December 2019 and is now closed. This RFI invited respondents to share information and proposed marine transportation concepts to help Build Nova Scotia and Parks Canada determine future service requirements. A Request for Proposals for Dedicated and Regularly Scheduled Waterborne Passenger Transportation to Georges Island National Historic Site was released in April 2020 and has now closed.

BACKGROUND

The Harbour Islands Visitor Experience Strategy is part of a $1.5 million investment, announced in July 2018, for the Halifax waterfront under the Tourism Revitalization of Icons Program (TRIP), which is administered by Tourism Nova Scotia. TRIP is a $6 million infrastructure funding program aiming to revitalize Nova Scotia’s most compelling tourism destinations, and to create opportunities for private businesses to develop new excursions and experiences. Five sites have been identified for development over the next three years, including the Halifax waterfront area.