Travel to Nova Scotia

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“Annis Horribilis”

Term used by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 meaning “bad year,”

It was the year that saw the Princess of Wale’s death

and the fire at Windsor Castle.

This year has to go on record as the most unusual in the travel business. With currency rates swinging wildly and fuel costs driving up the cost of even going to the grocery store the traveler has been hit hard.

1.  Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)

This years marked the first time Canadians have had to get a passport to fly to the United States. The long lineups to get through security weren’t enough to placate the jittery Homeland Security minions so now the longest undefended border in the world just became defended. Or, in other words, what out for terrorists hiding behind moose!

2.  Canadian Dollar on Steroids

The Canuck Buck rose to great heights against the U.S. dollar soaring to $1.12US one day. This was great for an ailing American travel industry, at least until it went down to 75 cents. Now it’s at 83 cents and Americans are beginning to shrug at getting passports to get at the Canadian deals.

3.  Speculators Push Oil up to Over $150 Barrel

This was just plain greed and stupidity. Even the Saudis didn’t like this because they knew we “Gringos” would begin to realize that oil isn’t everything and begin to look toward the worst nightmare to the oil-rich countries: electric cars. However, it hurt the Canucks because the Americans had a low U.S. buck and high gas prices. I think they just spent more time in their backyards drinking last summer because Nova Scotia took an incredible hit. In other words few wanted to drive their RV’s and big cars into Canada.

4. Airline Industry Almost Collapses

High fuel prices and fewer travelers meant that companies like Zoom could not afford their airport fees and fuel bills. A Zoom 767 was confiscated at the Halifax Stanfield Airport signalling the end of the neat little airline and waking the world up to the reality that airlines, trucking forms, bus companies and countries (Iceland) were on the verge of bankruptcy.

5.  Tourism Industry Not Sympathetic to Emergencies

During Christmas we saw a repeat of what has been happening for years – overbooking overcome by flight cancellations. Only this time is was North America-wide and tens of thousands of passengers had to bunk in at airports because there was no availability at over-booked hotels.

Travel is as essential to the world as security except that the passenger has been left out of that equation. Let’s see if 2009 is any better for the traveller.

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Although not a very large skiing destination Ski Wentworth has some of the most varied and challenging slopes in the Maritime Provinces. The hill is 815 vertical feet high with 20 alpine trails, a 1/2 Pipe, terrain park and a variety of challenging trails that even experts can enjoy.The ski season is sually from December to late March and the ski pass is really reasonable.

The area’s snow making machinery can accommodate 2/3rds of our total slopes and they have night skiing on three trails: Sissy, Rosebowl and Beaver. As well, there arelights on the Terrain Park and 1/2 pipe.

Here are some features:

Lifts – 1 Quad chair, 1 TBar & 2 rope tows

Ski Shop & Repair - Cleve’s Sporting Goods offers a wide selection of ski and snowboard equipment, clothing and accessories. Look for weekend demos to check out all the latest equipment. Cleves also tunes and repairs your skis. Leave them Sunday, ready to roll the next weekend.

Ski & Snowboard Rentals – No equipment? No problem. Our rental shop has a wide variety of skis, boards and blades as well as boots, poles and helmets. Everything you need to get you going.

Upcoming Events

Dec. 26-31 – Hours 9am-4:30pm

$25 lift ticket & $20 rental special

Dec. 31 – New Years Eve Party

Jan. 1 - Regular pricing, hours & specials in effect

Jan. 1 – First Steak & Ski Night

Jan. 2 - First Wing Night with Tim Bowers

Jan. 3 - First Classical Sunday

Jan. 10 - Snow School programs start

So, give it a shot. Even if you don’t have the gear the price is so reasonable that you can be skiing for less than the price of a concert ticket at the Merto Centre.

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If any one issue came to light during the Christmas week is that many airports are not able to handle emergencies of any kind let alone a passel of canceled flights. Not since September 11, 2001 has the airline and accommodations industries been caught so flat-footed. People following the updates on Twitter on Christmas Eve probably would have run out to their local airport to rescue some of these stranded souls.

What is Over-Booking?

It is common knowledge that, across the world, airlines will sell more seats than passengers that will be allowed to fly for the purpose of making sure that every aircraft leaves fully-loaded. Those who cannot get on the flight will be given perks like being bumped up to Business Class on the next flight or simply given a free ticket for a later date. This usually works because many people do not mind taking a later flight if it means getting a handsome reward in exchange. The hotel business offers a similar program and will have you transferred to another hotel complete with perks in hand.

Consequences of Overbooking

During the past week-and-a-half we have all seen this system of “take-and-give” fall apart. Why? Because during peak holiday season – when almost every traveler has to be at a certain destination for a specified period of time – any interruptions rattle down the ranks bumping customers with legitimate tickets off the queue. The bad part of this is that they stay off because the next flight will have the same problems. Not only that, this problem is multiplied by the number of airline companies at the airport so you have dozens of ticketed passengers with no ride. This is compounded when the next overbooked flights are ready for boarding and so on. As night draws near and the flights cease these passengers are now looking for accommodations dumping a huge strain on the hotel as well as the airline industry in the area.

Throw in Bad Weather

The problem with this Christmas season is that most of North America was hit with high winds and blizzards. Even rainy Seattle had Minnesota-style snow storms. Planes were ground during the high winds and when they were allowed to fly out many of the airports had run out of de-icer and so these planes could not leave.

One of the norms of traveling is that weather history almost always repeats itself. This may not happen for twenty or thirty years but colossal storms will eventually arrive during the times of peak travel. The chaos that results can be avoided if certain regulations are put into place. The FAA or other regulatory groups should be able to police airports and local hotels, especially those who are fed by these airports, so that they can be ready for any emergencies that require more people than rooms.

What Should Be Done?

1. All airlines should be required to have extra equipment and pilots available for peak seasons, especially in the fall and winter months.

2. Every airport should have a back-up supply of de-icer or a supplier that can deliver it quickly.

3. Hotels should have to make emergency arrangements to take on hundreds of stranded passengers and ensure that they have baths, showers and places to sleep. Hey, they can convert banquet rooms into sections in minutes why not have the same abilities for people?

4.  All airports should have facilities for showering that can be made available during a crisis. Bus depots in Europe and Australia have these for backpackers and charge a nominal fee. During good times these can be used for storage or other purposes.

Hey, on September 11-12, 2001Halifax, Gander and other Canadian cities landed and processed hundreds of jumbo aircraft and settled the passengers into temporary  accommodations so it can be done. The government just has to raise its finger like it did on 9-11 and people will be looked after.

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As far back as 2003 the price of gasoline and diesel was blamed as a contributing cause to lower tourism rates in Nova Scotia. In September 2005 the price spiked to $1.40 a liter sending shivers through owners of recreational vehicle owners traveling through the province.

The, last year, the entrenched price of around $1.10 a liter raised to an all-time high of over $1.40 as the price of a barrel of oil topped $150. As oil sits at under $40 a barrel gas dropped to under 1/2 of what it was last summer. this means that the price of operating a large vehicle has not only been cut in half from last but it is down 1/4 from what it was at any time in the last 15 years.

Tourism Industry Relief

What does this mean for the tourism industry in direct terms?

1. Lower vehicle fuel costs to get here: As mentioned before the  cost of getting Nova Scotia has been taken out of the equation so trips to the pumps won’t be painful.

2. Lower Jet fuel Costs: Remember Zoom and the other airlines that foundered last summer? Well, the low cost of fuel has airlines making money again and fares will begin to reflect this. In addition, a few airlines are just now beginning to drop their extra baggage charges.

3. Tour Buses: Coaches run in diesel fuel. Need I say more?

4. Cruise Ships: Last spring some cruise ships lines were going to drop visits to Cape Breton because of the fuel costs. We don’t know if the lower cost will change their minds but we’re hoping.

5. Taxis: Whether it be driving from the airport to the hotel or from the cruise ship to see the sights there will a lot more happy cab drivers around.

Indirectly, the spin-offs can’t be calculated. But all of a sudden renting a car and driving around the Cabot Trail seems like chicken feed to what it did last summer. In addition, camp ground owners will be pleased to see the big ships of the road return. What we can guess is that this development, coupled with the high U.S. dollar, will have a direct effect on people coming here.

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There’s and old saying in Nova Scotia regarding a nasty stretch of storms, rain or snow “We sure have having some weather these days.” This colloquial term is even more of an understatement the worse the weather becomes. And in the last few days I have been hearing it a lot.

Fierce winds have caused power outages that lasted until Christmas Day for many home owners. When the ice wasn’t dragging down lines the sea spray was causing arcing up on the power poles. All-in-all it was bad bout that lasted almost a week.

The reason for any weather in Nva Scotia is obviously the ocean. However, unlike many pasrt of the American east coast Nova Scotia is basically an island. In fact it is only joined to the mainland by less than 20 miles of low-lying areas called the Tantramar marsh. So of it is surrounded by water it only stands to reason the fluctuations in the ocean and the Bay of Fundy would have pronounced effects on the province.

Most of the year the Atlantic and Fundy waters are cold (8-12 degrees Celsuis or 46 to 50 Fahrenheit). This influences the land temperatures especially in the spring and fall which do not get the fluctuations of the mainland. For example, when the rest of the mainland areas are warming up Nova Scotia may be caught in a cool, wet funk that can last until July.  Then in October, when other areas are beginning to freeze, Nova Scotia may experience a long, Indian summer until the end of November with freezing not coming until December or even January.

The warmth of the fall is due to the influence of the Gulf Stream that warms the areas farther offshore to the east, southeast, and south. This current has warm 16C waters and is credited with prolonging fall which, because of the leaves, many Nova Scotians feel to be the best season of the year. This ends when the St. Lawrence River and Northumberland Strait, to the north, become frozen.

The ice pack of the t. Lawrence Estuary is also the cause of the long, cool springs because even when the ice leaves cold water keep coming from upstream and the Labrador Current. The collision of warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador Current also produces foggy conditions that often move inland for many miles.

Cape Sable, in the southeast coast has the longest frost-free time of over half the year, longer than any other place in Atlantic Canada. The main agricultural areas in Nova Scotia are without frost for 120 to 130 days. This is between late May and early October. However, the best growing area is The Annapolis Valley which has up to 140 frost-free days and good soil. This is the wine growing area.

Nova Scotia can experience the tail-end of hurricanes for the south but rarely get the full impact. On such rare landing of a hurricane was on September 29, 2003 when Hurricane Juan came ashore and pounded Halifax. The storm claimed the lives of eight individuals and will be recorded as the most damaging storm in modern history for Halifax, N.S. Hundreds of thousands of Maritimers in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were without power for much as two weeks.

Although Nova Scotia does “get weather” it is rarely in extremes and there are enough reasonably-priced accommodations to get out of the storms at any time.

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