The three existing hotel associations in Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John are joining together to promote and support tourism throughout the province.
Ray Roberge, President of the newly launched New Brunswick Hotel Association, says we are the last province in Canada to have a provincial association like this.
“We’re kinda catching up to what the other provinces are doing, and really, we wanna have one unified voice where we’re working with government to move things forward,” says Roberge.
The ultimate goal, he reiterates, is to promote the tourism industry in New Brunswick, and ensure we remain competitive in the tourism market.
“To make sure that we are aligned as an industry, that we’re going after the right markets, and that we’re working efficiently together for the greater good,” says Roberge.
Roberge says a priority is persuading the government to pass legislation enabling a Destination Marketing Fee, also known as a hotel levy.
“Therefore the communities can vote and decide whether they want to have a Destination Marketing Fee, or a hotel levy, which exists in Nova Scotia, PEI, the State of Maine, and just about everywhere else in North America [and] the world,” says Roberge.
He says tourism spending benefits the economy at large, as research shows for every dollar spent in a hotel, four dollars is spent in the local community.
Visitors to New Brunswick spend approximately $1.3 billion each year in the province, and the government has an ambitious plan to increase that number to $2 billion by 2025.
The NBHA will work as an umbrella organization in coordination with the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick.
