ST. MARTINS, N.B. -- The village of St. Martins is getting ready for what will undoubtedly be a much different tourism season -- with border shutdowns shutting out the possibility of tourists travelling from outside the province for the foreseeable future.
"We hope to be opening very soon, even if it's at a smaller capacity," says Jordan Jamison, the operations manager at Red Rock Adventures, a tour guide operation that runs out of St. Martins and relies on visitors to the village.
Jamison is optimistic that New Brunswickers will make the trek.
"Hopefully, with people being encouraged to stay in New Brunswick, and see New Brunswick, we see a lot more locals coming out," Jamison said.
One of the major attractions to the area is the Fundy Trail, a 2,500-hectare, 30-kilometre parkway that plans to be open to the public on May 15 after completing a major milestone with the opening of the east entrance.
In a time of physical distancing, visitors don't even have to get out of the car.
"It'll be the first time that we're running that end of the operation, so people will be able to travel from Sussex Corner entrance in," says Nancy Lockerbie, the Fundy Trail Parkway's general manager.
St. Martins mayor Ann Chatterton is optimistic.
"I think it's going to be good for the businesses to have the trail open," Chatterton said. "This year particularly, since we have the pandemic, folks can't travel from outside, I think it's encouraging more people from inside to travel more."
The Fundy Trail is now in the process of preparing for opening day, as they and the village wait to see exactly what the summer tourism season will bring.
