Starbuck will open two shops in Moncton
T&T
This old rumour-runner hears Metro is about to soon sport not one, but two of the popular Starbucks Coffee shops.
This tip originated at the online job-search site,
www.careerbeacon.com. A job posting appeared this week from a company called Coffee Vision Atlantic Inc. The post announced the company was opening a Starbucks location in Moncton and would need managers and assistant managers.
http://www.careerbeacon.com/cat/en/270/3/MB0710030608
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Tourists take a shine to Metro
Even with hundreds more hotel rooms in mix, summer tourism figures top 2006
By Jesse Robichaud
Times & Transcript Staff
Published Saturday October 13th, 2007
Appeared on page A1
The number of "no vacancy" signs popping up across Metro Moncton increased this summer despite the continued addition of new accommodations, according to numbers released by the Department of Tourism.
After a slow start and an 11 per cent drop off in occupancy rates this May compared to 2006, Metro had a strong summer with increases of 3 per cent in June, 4 per cent in July, and 1 per cent in August.
Rhéal Robichaud, of the New Brunswick Tourism Industry Association says the fact that occupancy rates continue to grow in Moncton despite the addition of hundreds of extra hotel and motel rooms is a testament is proof that Moncton is a prime destination for visitors.
"In Moncton, if you look at the accommodations sector, although they have had an increase, you have to realize that Moncton has had more rooms being added and there is more being added as we speak," he said noting the construction of the Marriott Hotel on Main Street.
Downtown Moncton Inc. CEO Daniel Allain attributed Metro's success to the number of festivals and high-profile conferences held in the city this year.
He sees the events and the modest tourism gains as the seed of potentially major increases next summer.
"Having the big push of having events and festivals in our downtown, and the major conferences that we had, certainly helped the Greater Moncton area on that level," he said noting the Atlantic Nationals, Atlanticade, the Council of the Federation meetings, the Communities in Bloom convention, and the Country Jamboree leading up to Country Rocks the Hill.
Allain says it all helps build Metro as a tourism destination.
"It's a cache," he said.
"Once a tourist is here you have to do something, and by having these events that is what's going to differentiate us from other areas."
And Allain says the buzz created by the events helped draw more New Brunswickers.
Despite a slow start, tourism numbers were up across the province, with 25 per cent more business coming from New Brunswick travellers.
The number of American visitors, however, was down.
Room sales to visitors from the United States and overseas dropped by 5 per cent in May, 9 per cent in June and 16 per cent in July, but jumped by two per cent in August over 2006.
Danielle MacFarlane, a spokeswoman for the Department of Tourism, says the drop off is less dramatic when the number of vehicles entering the province from the United States specifically is considered, in which a decrease of only 1 per cent in May, 1 per cent in June, and 3 per cent in July was recorded.
Despite a drop in American tourists, Robichaud says the province's tourism industry can't afford to focus its marketing dollar elsewhere.
In fact, he suggests more marketing dollars are needed to rebuild a geographically natural market.
"What can you do? You have to remain in market. You have to be more present in the market," he said, encouraging the Liberal government to increase investment in the U.S. market.
"The increased 2007-2008 tourism budget we are anticipating will certainly allow us to have a greater presence." Robichaud attributes many factors to the drop in American visitors, including the weak American dollar and the war in Iraq.
"The misperception over the documentation requirement for crossing the border...the weather is another thing, now the exchange rate, the perception of a long wait at the border...," he said.
"Historically, Americans don't necessarily travel when their country is at war, for many reasons, and it's very valid in my opinion."
MacFarlane says the province will continue to spend marketing dollars on the American market, and says Moncton's direct flight to New York is a major asset to the province's campaign to attract more Americans, and New Yorkers in particular.
"New York is a developing market and it is a key growth market for the province," said MacFarlane. "We know we have what they want and we know we can profile the province in such a way to get them here," she said, stressing the province's natural assets and lifestyle.
Still, Robichaud says this year's steady increase in visitors does show the tourism sector in New Brunswick is experiencing sustainable growth.
"You certainly don't want to peak and drop off," he said, noting the volatility of the industry globally.
"In seeing a steady growth like that, it certainly adds a certain level of comfort in terms of the sustainability of the industry. It brings back a certain level of comfort for operators."
The Miramichi and Southeastern New Brunswick areas saw a drop of 4 per cent in occupancy in May over 2006, and steady gains of 4 per cent in June, 5 per cent in July, and 6 per cent in July.
http://www.gnb.ca/0397/documents/2007-tourism-indicators.pdf
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