Low Loonie Expected to Boost New Brunswick’s Summer Tourism Season
FREDERICTON– Summer is creeping up slowly but surely and with summer comes the summer tourism season.
With the state of the Canadian dollar, New Brunswick is poised to take advantage of American shoppers looking to score deals and staycationers avoiding the rough exchange rate.
Saint John is expecting another strong year for tourism, with events like the Area 506 Festival, Buskers on the Bay, Sculpture Saint John, Marathon by the Sea and Fundy Fringe Festival drawing in people from all over.
“We do know the slight majority of our visitors are from within the province of New Brunswick but we have also seen a rise in room sales from the rest of Canada,” said Victoria Clarke, executive director of Discover Saint John. “We have U.S. visitors coming by cruise ship and car to enjoy everything the Bay of Fundy Region has to offer.”
Though the low loonie has been causing trouble for some Canadian industries, Clarke said it could be a good thing for tourism in the province.
“Certainly more Canadians are choosing to vacation at home which could mean great things for a destination like Saint John with so much to offer – everything from festivals and events, to unique culinary experiences, history and heritage and amazing outdoor and nature experiences,” she said. “And likewise, we expect some American travellers to be enticed by the extra value they will receive visiting Canada. Our close proximity to the border could play into their travel plans.”
David Seabrook of Fredericton Tourism is hoping to take advantage of Canadians travelling in their home country, especially those from central Canada.
“(The low dollar) will encourage some Americans to come north but I think the real opportunity there is that more Canadians will consider staying at home,” Seabrook said. “We’ll certainly be through digital marketing and social media trying to target people in Ontario and Quebec with intentions to travel to the Maritimes this summer and try to grab a piece of that business.”
Seabrook says that they’ve lost a couple music festivals in part because of the Canadian dollar but are confident other attractions such as the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Kings Landing, the Historic Garrison District and Harvest jazz and Blues Festival will still bring in plenty of traffic.
*Moncton Tourism representatives were unavailable for comment.