The Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick (TIANB) is excited by an increase in visitors this past summer.
Provincial attractions saw an eight per cent jump in visitors overall between June and August, according to numbers released by the province last week.
Dan Myers, past-chair of the TIANB, said those attractions keep visitors here longer to invest more in our economy.
“We do have to keep in mind we are a 365-day industry so, therefore, we can’t survive strictly on three months,” said Myers. “We just need to work on how we can drive visitation to the province the other nine months of the year, as well.”
The increase comes despite a 40 per cent cut to the tourism department’s budget this year.
Myers said he did not expect the cuts to have any effect on this year’s numbers.
“When we do marketing, we market for down the road, not for today or tomorrow,” he said. “We would expect, possibly, we could see some ramifications over the next few years.”
The provincial government has committed to refocusing its tourism strategy over the coming months.
Myers said industry officials are looking forward to working with those in government on this strategy.
“There has to be a partnership, it can’t be one-sided, so they need to really engage with industry. We’re all here together, we all want the same end, and we just need to work together to make sure it happens.”
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