After the opening of a new Provincial tourism bureau in St. Stephen, N.B., many residents are disappointed with the outcome.

The bureau is just off the highway, and part of a new gas station and fast food complex.  

Residents and the leaders of the Provincial Green Party wonder if it’s the best place to make a first impression on visitors.

Members of the community, including N.B. Green Party Leader David Coon, are underwhelmed by the new infrastructure. They say the new bureau makes it seem as though New Brunswicker’s are not proud of their province, and that it looks like a “low key door in the wall.”

Coon says he was expecting something pretty impressive.

“We’ve got what looks like an entrance to a Service New Brunswick,” says Coon.

The old tourist bureau used to be located in the town’s former train station downtown. It was moved to be closer to the highway.

“I remember the day we made the announcement, how excited people were,” says N.B. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Bill Fraser.

“One of the things we tried to do in the tourism sector is go where the people are, and that’s where the natural flow of people and traffic is,” says Fraser.

Residents say compared to the old location, the new tourist bureau is underwhelming at best.

“It’s just not an outstanding tourist bureau and place where people would feel that they’re seeing something of the town,” says resident Jerome Nason.

Another resident, Gary Sturgeon, says it’s more like a convenience store business, and the setting is not what they’d like to have.

The government says tourist bureaus are not the end-all-be-all that they used to be – citing GPS and information that’s available online.

The tourist bureau in Cape Jourimain and Campobello won’t be opening at all this year.

David Coon says the government should be doing more when it comes to how visitors are welcomed to New Brunswick.

“If we’re not building the tourism infrastructure at our entry points that say ‘this is a great place to visit’, no wonder they’re driving through.”

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.