Post-tropical storm Arthur continues to impact tourism in New Brunswick, as tourists express concerns about power outages and cleanup efforts.
Some say the storm is taking a toll on businesses that depend on seasonal visitors.
“This week we should be booked solid and there should be cars in the yard,” says Nicole Edwards, co-owner of the Dune View Inn in Bouctouche. “We're just not seeing that level.”
Edwards believes Arthur is to blame.
“That's what we started to think that maybe people are changing their plans, they're re-routing themselves to avoid complications on their vacation,” she says.
Some New Brunswick communities were hit hard by the storm, but other areas, like Bouctouche, were spared. However, that hasn’t stopped some tourists from questioning their vacation plans.
“We were following closely to make sure that our hotel was going to be available since we had prepaid everything,” says tourist Steve Baran.
The number of visitors to Le Pays de la Sagouine, a reproduction of a prohibition fishing village, dipped in the days following the storm, but business is now back to normal.
“In the last week or so we've been seeing tourism picking up, so it's promising so far,” says Jerome Lussier of Le Pays de la Sagouine.
Some tourists say, storm or no storm, power or no power, they still would have made the trip to New Brunswick.
“I think we may have come anyway,” says May Ann Baran. “We don’t get a lot of opportunity for different types of vacations and because there’s four of us travelling, coordinating it was very difficult.”
Edwards says she hopes word starts to spread that her inn is open for business, and unaffected by Arthur.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis
