Submitted by: James Wilson
As summer continues its relentless march towards winter, it's worth reflecting on how the summer tourism season has gone. This is doubly important as we leave the pandemic years behind. Has our tourism economy fully recovered? How are tourism-related businesses doing? Has tourism changed post-pandemic?
Before I continue I would like to stress this is a very broad snapshot of the situation. I did not contact every business in Albert County. If any businesses or organizations wish to offer a counterpoint or reply in order to create a clearer picture, I’m sure CAC would consider publishing it.
As summer continues its relentless march towards winter, it's worth reflecting on how the summer tourism season has gone. This is doubly important as we leave the pandemic years behind. Has our tourism economy fully recovered? How are tourism-related businesses doing? Has tourism changed post-pandemic?
Before I continue I would like to stress this is a very broad snapshot of the situation. I did not contact every business in Albert County. If any businesses or organizations wish to offer a counterpoint or reply in order to create a clearer picture, I’m sure CAC would consider publishing it.
Eateries
The idea for this article came one day in August when I was getting a waffle sandwich at Wacky Wonderful Waffles in Hillsborough and I happened to ask how they had been doing so far this year. They answered that they were on track to surpass last year and had increased sales each year since opening in 2020. They also stated that a continuing problem is that many people ‘down country’ still don’t know they are open. They were not alone in having a good year. The Cinnamon Soul Cafe stated that their sales are up 30% this year.
Getting off route 114 for a second, the Elgin Country Kitchen (another business that opened in 2020) and did good business for three weeks before pandemic restrictions came into force. 2020 and 2021 were not great for sales and 2023 brought unending rain that ruined their short summer season. 2024 has looked up with a good amount of sun. They state that most of their sales are not local and come from people wanting to partake in outdoor activities around Elgin, which makes their profits heavily dependent on the weather. All things considered they are still hopeful; “We have and always will be optimistic [about] continuing to bring a warm and welcoming space for all who stop in! We love being a part of the Elgin community.”
Returning to Hillsborough, David Briggs of Briggs Maples says that overall they are up in sales for the summer season over last year despite a bit of a dip in July for unknown reasons. They even had a tour bus stop in. David notes that it is hard to compare this years sales to pre-pandemic numbers as they moved to their current location (from the old fire hall in Riverview) during said pandemic. However, he says he is getting more tourists at the current location, possibly because tourists going between Moncton and Alma don’t bypass it now.
Finally, the Gateway Market states their sales are up but they do caution against attributing this to more tourism as they are also offering more selection than they did before.
Heritage Attractions
With all the excitement around their dinosaur exhibit, it should be no surprise the curator of the Albert County Museum at Hopewell Cape says they are on track to have their best year ever since their previous best year of...2023. The museum has received a number of bus tours but the biggest increase in tourism has been driven by families with young children coming to see the dinosaur.
Steve Milburn of the Railway Museum in Hillsborough noted that the pandemic greatly increased the number of visitors they had from within New Brunswick. While 2024 has seen a large increase over previous years in total numbers of visitors, this has been driven by foreign tourists with the numbers of New Brunswickers visiting the museum being down. Steve opined the tourism industry would be well served to go after local tourism.
Hopewell Rocks
The Hopewell Rocks has had a 20% increase in visitors over last year. Of this, there has been a 40% increase in group bookings. The Rocks note that they have upgraded many of their facilities for the tourism season including the restaurant which is now full service.
Accommodations
I initially assumed that if the above categories of tourism businesses were doing well then the accommodation section must be as well. However, I talked with the Mayor of Fundy Albert and he says that he has heard that tourism is actually down in this sector. I called up my sister who runs an Airbnb in Alma and she confirmed she hasn’t been any busier than last year.
I was not able to get a clear picture of this sector of the tourism industry before deadline but if numbers are in fact down there are a couple possibilities;
- The growth in tourism is being driven by bus tours which may have less need for local accommodations.
- More people are traveling in campers or going camping.
Neither are insurmountable obstacles for businesses in the accommodations sector and the overall health of the tourism industry seems good.
The idea for this article came one day in August when I was getting a waffle sandwich at Wacky Wonderful Waffles in Hillsborough and I happened to ask how they had been doing so far this year. They answered that they were on track to surpass last year and had increased sales each year since opening in 2020. They also stated that a continuing problem is that many people ‘down country’ still don’t know they are open. They were not alone in having a good year. The Cinnamon Soul Cafe stated that their sales are up 30% this year.
Getting off route 114 for a second, the Elgin Country Kitchen (another business that opened in 2020) and did good business for three weeks before pandemic restrictions came into force. 2020 and 2021 were not great for sales and 2023 brought unending rain that ruined their short summer season. 2024 has looked up with a good amount of sun. They state that most of their sales are not local and come from people wanting to partake in outdoor activities around Elgin, which makes their profits heavily dependent on the weather. All things considered they are still hopeful; “We have and always will be optimistic [about] continuing to bring a warm and welcoming space for all who stop in! We love being a part of the Elgin community.”
Returning to Hillsborough, David Briggs of Briggs Maples says that overall they are up in sales for the summer season over last year despite a bit of a dip in July for unknown reasons. They even had a tour bus stop in. David notes that it is hard to compare this years sales to pre-pandemic numbers as they moved to their current location (from the old fire hall in Riverview) during said pandemic. However, he says he is getting more tourists at the current location, possibly because tourists going between Moncton and Alma don’t bypass it now.
Finally, the Gateway Market states their sales are up but they do caution against attributing this to more tourism as they are also offering more selection than they did before.
Heritage Attractions
With all the excitement around their dinosaur exhibit, it should be no surprise the curator of the Albert County Museum at Hopewell Cape says they are on track to have their best year ever since their previous best year of...2023. The museum has received a number of bus tours but the biggest increase in tourism has been driven by families with young children coming to see the dinosaur.
Steve Milburn of the Railway Museum in Hillsborough noted that the pandemic greatly increased the number of visitors they had from within New Brunswick. While 2024 has seen a large increase over previous years in total numbers of visitors, this has been driven by foreign tourists with the numbers of New Brunswickers visiting the museum being down. Steve opined the tourism industry would be well served to go after local tourism.
Hopewell Rocks
The Hopewell Rocks has had a 20% increase in visitors over last year. Of this, there has been a 40% increase in group bookings. The Rocks note that they have upgraded many of their facilities for the tourism season including the restaurant which is now full service.
Accommodations
I initially assumed that if the above categories of tourism businesses were doing well then the accommodation section must be as well. However, I talked with the Mayor of Fundy Albert and he says that he has heard that tourism is actually down in this sector. I called up my sister who runs an Airbnb in Alma and she confirmed she hasn’t been any busier than last year.
I was not able to get a clear picture of this sector of the tourism industry before deadline but if numbers are in fact down there are a couple possibilities;
- The growth in tourism is being driven by bus tours which may have less need for local accommodations.
- More people are traveling in campers or going camping.
Neither are insurmountable obstacles for businesses in the accommodations sector and the overall health of the tourism industry seems good.
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