Industry Update (New Brunswick)

New Brunswick Visitation:

In 2010, New Brunswick welcomed an estimated 2.96 million visits of one or more nights from New Brunswick residents on out-of-town trips, from other parts of Canada, from the United States, and from overseas.

New Brunswick Accommodations:

New Brunswick accommodations sold over 1.7 million room nights in 2011, consistent with 2010 but not keeping pace with the 1.5% increase in room nights available and therefore dropping the provincial accommodation occupancy rate by one point

The annual occupancy rate in New Brunswick averaged 50% in 2011, 1 percentage points lower than that reported in 2010.

The average daily room rate in New Brunswick, as observed in the month of August, decreased by $2.18 to $112.73 in 2011.

Attraction Attendance:

Overall attraction visits between May and October of 2011 declined in comparison to the same period in 2010, with outdoor attractions including New Brunswick’s natural wonders and historic sites reporting 6% fewer visits while visits to museums, galleries, zoos, and aquariums remained relatively stable and gardens attracted more visits. Attendance at leading provincially or federally supported attractions generally reflected this pattern as did regional attraction attendance patterns, where covered attractions and gardens contributed to the 11% increase in visits reported along the Saint John River Valley. Parks and historic sites along the Fundy coast countered this pattern, however, by sustaining attraction visits in that region.

Source: New Brunswick Tourism Indicators Summary Report 2011 (April 2012 – Tourism, Heritage and Culture)