Industry Snapshot

Tourism is critical to New Brunswick's culture, heritage, arts, recreation, and entertainment industries, and it also contributes significantly to New Brunswick's service industries including transportation and travelling services, accommodations, and food and beverage services.

All of these industries comprise the tourism sector, and in New Brunswick, an estimated 34,700 employees worked in over 3,088 business establishments in this sector¹ in 2010.

Visits to and within the province of New Brunswick in 2010 contributed an estimated $1,1 billion in tourism-related expenditures on accommodations, restaurants, shopping, travel, and travel activities.

Tourism spending by visitors from outside of the province were estimated at $638 million in 2010². The total impact on provincial GDP by these tourism expenditures in 2010 has been estimated as $738 million, or 3.5% of provincial GDP. This estimated tourism share of provincial GDP ranks with the combined 3.5% share that primary industries of agriculture, forestry, and fishing represent in the New Brunswick economy.

This economic activity sustained an estimated 19,600 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) within the tourism sector in 2010. New Brunswick jobs sustained by tourism extend beyond the tourism sector itself, as tourism demand must also be supplied by New Brunswick's retail and manufacturing industries.

Tourism spending also benefits New Brunswick's provincial and municipal governments through estimated tax revenues of $103 million and $17 million, respectively, in 2010³. This allows for further investment in culture and recreation facilities that benefit the residents of New Brunswick, and provides incremental funding to support education, health care, and other vital programs.

1.       Source: Statistics Canada Business Register (June 2010). Location counts are of active businesses within the 29 industry groups that are part of the Canadian Tourism Satellite Account, and have corporate income tax (T2) accounts and GST accounts with annual gross incomes exceeding $30,000.

2.       Source: Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture

3.       Source: Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture