FREDERICTON — New Brunswick is trying to revive its tourism sector by offering to subsidize vacations for out-of-province visitors when its boundaries reopen to the rest of the region.
The NB Travel Incentive program — offered only to New Brunswickers last year — will be extended this year to visitors from the rest of the Atlantic region, Tourism Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace said Tuesday.
The program provides a 20 per cent rebate on eligible expenses up to $1,000 that are made during an overnight stay in New Brunswick.
Scott-Wallace says travellers to the province between May 27 and Oct. 31 can benefit from the program.
The government is planning to reopen its boundaries to visitors from Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador next Monday and to Nova Scotians on July 1. Visitors from those provinces will not have to isolate for two weeks upon entry.
Tourism employs between 30,000 and 40,000 people in New Brunswick each year.
Meanwhile, health officials in the province reported five new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday. Officials said the new cases involve one person in the Moncton region, two in the Fredericton region and two people in the Bathurst area.
New Brunswick has 142 active reported cases of COVID-19 and five patients in hospital with the disease. There is one New Brunswicker hospitalized with COVID-19 in an intensive care unit outside the province.
The government has reported a total of 2,215 cases of COVID-19 and 43 deaths linked to the virus.
About 63.4 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Health officials are encouraging anyone who has yet to receive a first dose to book an appointment for one.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2021.
The Canadian Press
