{"id":62535,"date":"2026-02-20T11:39:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=62535"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:39:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:39:58","slug":"communities-culture-tourism-heritage-issues-statement-on-museums-vic-closures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=62535","title":{"rendered":"Communities, Culture, Tourism, Heritage issues statement on museums, VIC closures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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HALIFAX:<\/strong> The provincial Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism, and Heritage issued a statement on the closure of museums and visitor information centres across the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spokesperson said that museums play a key role in preserving and sharing our heritage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“To protect that work for future generations, we\u2019re taking steps to modernize the Nova Scotia Museum system,” said Meredith Hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Nova Scotia has more provincial museum sites than any other province. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“With 28 sites and more than 240 buildings, the system has grown complex and increasingly difficult to maintain. As a result, we need to adapt and focus our efforts where they will make the most difference.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hand said that staff at three museum sites\u00a0were notified that those\u00a0locations\u00a0will be closing.\u00a0The sites\u00a0are Prescott House, the Fisherman\u2019s Life Museum, and Sutherland Steam Mill.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We considered several factors in deciding which sites to close, including attendance and changing visitor expectations,” she said. “At these locations, attendance has remained low, with some drawing only 1,000 visitors a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These closures will allow us to prioritize museums and programs that reach more people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said these are difficult decisions, and that the province recognizes the impact on employees and their families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We\u2019re grateful for their service and the care they\u2019ve shown in sharing the stories that reflect our province,” said Hand. “Protecting Nova Scotia\u2019s heritage remains our priority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These changes will help ensure our museum system is sustainable and can continue serving visitors for years to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As for the Visitro Information Centres closures, the department said the way people travel has changed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Visitors plan their trips online and expect information at their fingertips,” said Hand. We need to change with them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Tourism Nova Scotia is modernizing how we deliver visitor information, so it reflects how people travel today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As part of this shift, the Visitor Information Centre at the New Brunswick border just outside Amherst will operate seasonally from May to October instead of year-round.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the remaining Visitor Information Centres in Yarmouth, Port Hastings, Peggy\u2019s Cove and the Halifax airport are now permanently closed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We will continue to invest in digital tools, strategic marketing and industry partnerships that connect visitors to experiences across the province. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This includes support for more than 40 community visitor information centres that provide advice and local recommendations, encouraging visitors to stay longer and explore more.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hand said as they modernize how they serve visitors, they’re also improving how they measure industry performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We\u2019re developing a process for reporting tourism statistics that will provide more reliable intelligence to guide decisions and drive growth,” said Hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As part of this shift, we will no longer conduct manual visitor counting at the New Brunswick border and at the Halifax airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We recognize these changes have an impact on employees and their families. We\u2019re grateful for their service and their commitment to welcoming visitors to our province.”
 
Hand said that tourism remains a major economic driver for Nova Scotia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These initiatives support the goals of the Tourism Sector Strategic Plan and position the industry for long-term, sustainable growth,” she said. “By modernizing how we share information and measure success, we\u2019re ensuring our province stays competitive and welcoming in a rapidly changing travel landscape.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HALIFAX: The provincial Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism, and Heritage issued a statement on the closure of museums and visitor information centres across the province. The spokesperson said that museums play a key role in preserving and sharing our heritage.  “To protect that work for future generations, we\u2019re taking steps to modernize the Nova Scotia Museum system,” said Meredith […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[1639,10395,10396,50,10397,10390,8642,48,1077,1126,1445,10392],"class_list":["post-62535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-closure","tag-department-of-communities","tag-department-of-communities-culture-tourism-and-heritage","tag-halifax","tag-heritage","tag-layoffs","tag-museums","tag-n-s","tag-nova-scotia","tag-province","tag-tourism","tag-visitor-information-centre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}