New Brunswick announces five-year tourism strategy to boost industry

New Brunswick has unveiled an ambitious five-year tourism strategy which aims to make the province the top vacation destination for visitors in Atlantic Canada, as the hard-hit sector begins pandemic recovery.

The new vision is called The Invitation, which the province’s minister of Tourism, Heritage & Culture says is about letting people know they’re invited to New Brunswick. It calls on New Brunswickers to share their favourite destinations in the province.

"With this five-year strategic vision we want to make people see, hear and feel like New Brunswick is their place in the world. The Invitation showcases our province as the best place to visit, live, and build businesses," says Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace.

"We have missed our visitors and the people who once called New Brunswick home. We cannot wait to see them again."

The strategy includes goals to boost overnight visits by 33 per cent compared to 2021, or, from 1.09 million to 1.45 million, and boost online travellers' perceptions of the province by 21 per cent.

This year, the focus will be attracting visitors from Atlantic Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Eastern U.S., and ex-pats living in other provinces.

Next year, the focus will broaden to inviting the world in, focusing on the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

As well, the province says the tourism strategy includes marketing campaigns which are tailored to different audiences and seasons.

The new strategy comes about three weeks before the first cruise ship of the season – and since the start of the pandemic – sails into Saint John.

Danielle Timmins of Aquila Tours says all hands are on deck to prepare for the arrival.

"We’re seeing that the ships are getting really good fill rates, people are excited to be on board, everything is really safe on board, they’ve taken a lot of extra precautions,” says Timmins, “so people are really excited to cruise and be able to come to Canada."