New Brunswick commits $100 million to new tourism strategy

The New Brunswick government is following up strong tourism numbers with a major investment in the industry over the next several years.

Its new Tourism Growth Strategy looks to invest $100 million in the field over the next eight years.

Premier Brian Gallant made a bold promise of making New Brunswick  “the destination in the Maritimes when it comes to tourism.”

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Premier Gallant says the $100 million will be spread out to include different facets of the industry.

“We’re going to be making investments to help all of our tourism operators get the support that they need to have the infrastructure that they need to be able to improve the experience and increase our tourism numbers,” said Gallant.

“We’re going to be making investments in our roads and bridges to ensure that we have the tourism corridors that we need to have our tourists have a great experience when they’re here.”

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The strategy also looks to grow visitor spending, currently estimated at about $1.3 billion to $2 billion by 2025.

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Those in the industry say when the province prioritizes tourism it means growth.

“We saw this year that we had a 12 per cent increase in contribution to the province,” said Victoria Clarke of Discover Saint John.

“That means that we’re into new markets. That means that we are able to send people from our province into new marketplaces to have new clients.”

Officials in the province say 42,000 people are employed in the tourism industry in New Brunswick