2017 was all-time high; sets stage for coming season

For immediate release: March 15, 2018

The City’s tourism sector roared again in 2017, setting all-time highs for visitors, room sales, and establishing a record economic impact of $275.1 million, Fredericton Tourism reported today.

It was the second year of major gains and the sixth consecutive year of tourism growth. Economic impact increased 6.3% in 2017, holding and surpassing 2016’s major gain of 7.8%.  The tourism sector’s impact has expanded by $55.1 million from $220million in 2011.

“It was a great year for tourism in Fredericton. To take the huge gains of the year before, match them and grow another 6.3%, that’s pretty tremendous growth”, said Fredericton Tourism Manager David Seabrook. “The City’s tourism and hospitality sector is growing fast and having a significant impact on Fredericton’s economy overall.”

Total visitors to the City grew by 3.2% to a new high of 1,540,000. Overnight visitors increased by 5.8% to 675,000 - the highest number ever recorded for Fredericton.

Room sales, a critically important gauge of tourism activity, grew by 4.6% to 343,000.  Room sales have increased 12.8% over the last two years.

“We’re particularly pleased to see continued growth in room sales. Our hotel sector has invested significantly in Fredericton in the past year. Millions have been invested in renovations and the construction of two new hotels, which will soon open. We’re very happy that market demand is growing to support that investment,” said Seabrook.

Continued growth in out of province visitors was a highlight in 2017, with increased expenditures of 6.7% to $74.9 million. These gains are on top of an astonishing 19.6% gain made in 2016!

Fredericton Tourism said strong gains in 2017 resulted from a combination of factors including growing sport tourism and convention sales, a weaker dollar, reasonable gas prices, and Canada 150 celebrations which kept Canadians at home.

The only market to see decline in 2017 was U.S. and foreign travelers, which declined 5.0%, after gains the previous year.

The results reported are drawn from a third-party tourism industry performance report produced by MacKellar, Cunningham and Associates, commissioned annually by Fredericton Tourism to measure the impact of the tourism industry in the Capital City.

For more information, contact Stacey Russell, Assistant Manager of Fredericton Tourism, 460-2410 (Office), 260-6958 (Cell), stacey.russell@fredericton.ca .