Yarmouth Nova Scotia: Encyclopedia II - Yarmouth Nova Scotia - Tourism

Yarmouth Nova Scotia - Tourism

Tourism has been a major industry in Yarmouth since the late 19th century when the Dominion Atlantic Railway and Halifax and Southwestern Railway began to offer connections for its passengers with steamship services operating to New York City and Boston. This continued until the Second World War when the services were terminated. Canadian National Railways instituted a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine in the 1950s and this was continued by CN Marine and Marine Atlantic until 1997.

In 1998 operation of the Bar Harbor route was transferred to Bay Ferries Limited which currently operates a high-speed catamaran ferry - HSC Incat 059, which is marketed as "The Cat".

In the 1970s an American tourist cruise company Prince of Fundy Cruises began operating a conventional cruise-ferry between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth. This operation continued as Scotia Prince Cruises until April 2005, when it was ceased due to dangerous levels of toxic mold at the terminal in Portland. The future of ferry service from Yarmouth to Portland is uncertain. However, talks are underway with town officials in nearby Shelburne, Nova Scotia to create a Shelburne to Boston ferry in time for the 2006 tourist season.

The New York Islanders a team in the National Hockey League had their training camp for the 2005 NHL season in Yarmouth at the Mariners Centre[1]. The team has not been to Canada for training camp since a mid-'90s visit to Kitchener Ont., when Don Maloney was GM and Mike Milbury was coach. They are also home to the Yarmouth Mariners a Maritime Junior A Hockey League Team.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Tourism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki