Bathurst (August 21, 2020) – The tourism industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. With the lockdown and travel restrictions, tourism operators saw a drastic and sudden reduction in visitors. A Liberal government would invest in tourism as part of its economic recovery plan for New Brunswick.
“The Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture was one the hardest hit by the Blaine Higgs cuts having had it budget slashed by forty percent,” says Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers. “Blaine Higgs has ignored our economy and left tourism and culture operators without help to survive the pandemic. We see great potential for this industry to help with the economic recovery of the province, that is why a Liberal government will restore the department’s full budget.”
While the Atlantic bubble has allowed people from PEI and Nova Scotia to travel into our province and visit the many tourism destinations New Brunswick has to offer, the northern part of the Province was disadvantaged given the distance from the borders.
“Tourism is vital to the economy of many northern communities and Quebecers are by far the majority of visitors in these areas,” says Vickers. “Working together with operators in this region we will implement a strategy to welcome back our Quebec neighbours to our province and to our northern communities once it is safe to do so.”
One of New Brunswick’s strongest existing assets is our network of scenic drives and signature trails criss-crossing our great province. A Liberal government will capitalize on these tourism resources by continuing to develop and actively promote the five scenic drives and the signature trails program. A Liberal government will revitalize the points of entry to the Province by making investments and innovative improvements to tourist information centres. And a Liberal government will reestablish an aggressive marketing campaign to ensure New Brunswick’s tourism assets are well promoted to the world.
“Rejuvenating and developing the beautiful scenic drives and signature trails we have in the Province and improving the welcome we provide our visitors will be important pieces of our tourism strategy,” says Vickers. “These investments will encourage more travelers to enjoy the incredible range of tourism experiences New Brunswick has to offer.”
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