Tourism numbers up at many provincial destinations, government says
The New Brunswick's tourism industry saw a 10 per cent increase in visitors between September and June, despite the 26 per cent drop at Parlee Beach, according to a government release.
Hopewell Rocks saw the most tourists this summer, with 282,202 people visiting the historic landmark, up 17 per cent from last year.
Second highest was the Kings Landing Historical Settlement with 32,949, an increase of 19 per cent since last year.
The third highest increase in visitors was Kingsbrae Gardens, followed by the New Brunswick Botanical Garden, and the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, Village Historique Acadian, New Brunswick Aquarium and Marine Centre, and the New Brunswick Museum.
"Our government is very pleased with this years tourism sector," said John Ames, the Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture at a press conference Tuesday.
"We're on a pretty darn good trend right now."
The Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture did not clarify what constitutes a tourist visit. It is also unclear how long tourists stayed, and how much money they spent visiting the province.
Some tourist attractions down
The government also left out the tourist attractions that saw decreases.
Several tourist attractions saw a drop in their numbers, including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, which was under construction during the summer, and where visitor numbers dropped two per cent. The Fundy Trail also dropped two per cent and Le Pays de la Sagouine dropped a total of seven per cent.
Parlee Beach, which saw a 26 per cent decrease, had water quality issues throughout the summer.
In September, the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture released numbers on the beach.
At the time, the number of vehicle entrance permits sold decreased from 23,569 to 17,110.
Also, the number of people staying at Parlee's campground between June and August decreased from 11,042 in 2016 to 10,649 in 2017.
At the time, out of 106 swimming days, nine days had elevated bacterial levels.
Ames said Parlee Beach has always been a tourism jewel for the province and water quality issues shouldn't distract from that.
"All departments in our government are working together to make sure that we can do the best we can, ensuring due diligence," said Ames.
"I'm very confident as we steer toward the future we will embark on a safer place for people to recreate."
Ames did not elaborate on what those plans were.
Ronald Drisdelle, president and CEO of the Tourist Industry Association of New Brunswick, said despite the lower numbers at the beach, the restaurants, businesses and campgrounds did well in the Shediac area.
He said New Brunswick is a unique experience for tourists who come here from Quebec, the U.S. and Europe. They find the rich culture here to be special. He said especially Acadian and Indigenous culture.
"We're working all together, so New Brunswick puts the best foot forward," said Drisdelle.
