Tourism numbers across the Maritimes are up, and with the months of August and September still to come, the industry is hoping the trend continues.
Tourism officials in New Brunswick say most of their visitors are coming from Ontario and Quebec. A visitor information centre in Aulac has seen a 6 per cent jump in tourists during the month of July.
Nathalie Dodd, a tourist from Quebec, stopped into the centre today.
“We started in Quebec and we went to the Cabot Trail and we’re coming back by New Brunswick,” Dodd told CTV News.
Tourists from Europe and the United States are expected to travel to the Maritimes throughout August and September, and those numbers will only enhance what has been a good season for the local tourism industry.
Many Americans have already crossed the border this summer, including David Saltis, who decided to spend his first vacation in ten years in the Maritimes.
“I always wanted to see the Hopewell Rocks and being this close, I thought it would be good to go into Nova Scotia and then to Prince Edward Island,” says Saltis.
Tourism numbers for Prince Edward Island increased almost 12 per cent in April, and the numbers are good for Nova Scotia too. Roughly 150,400 visitors came to the province in May – a five per cent increase from the previous year.
“There has been an increase in visitations to Nova Scotia, which we hope is going to continue throughout the summer months and into the fall,” says Percy Paris, Nova Scotia's economic and rural development and tourism minister.
An increase in visitors also means an increase in dollars for Maritime businesses.
“We have been open 27 years and we haven’t seen such an increase in our tourism since we opened,” says Moncton retailer Steve Clerke.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis
