From today's T&T
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=10182
Moncton hotel rentals up
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Brent Mazerolle
Tourism grows locally as it founders elsewhere in Maritimes
Moncton continues to buck all the downward tourism trends of the Maritime region, drawing more tourism dollars last year even as the rest of the Maritimes, says industry consultant named Rod Cunningham.
Cunningham, the president of McKellar, Cunningham and Associates, was at the regular public meeting of Moncton city council last night to give them a report card on how the city's hotels fared in 2011 and their outlook for 2012.
Last year, Cunningham told council Moncton's tourism growth in 2010 had been 'simply remarkable,' and this year he returned to say the city continued to grow its tourism in 2011 even from the previously spectacular year.
To set the stage, Cunningham noted Moncton had increased the number of hotel rooms by a whopping 35 per cent in the past decade compared to the four per cent growth in capacity in the Maritimes overall during the same period.
He also said most of that growth happened right at the worst possible time, on the eve of the North American recession.
Cunningham admitted he pre dicted disaster for Moncton hoteliers. However, demand for hotel rooms in Moncton grew by 36 per cent over the past decade, compared to the Maritime growth in demand at five per cent.
'Moncton is clearly at the top of Maritime centres,' Cunningham said. 'Even following the growth in 2010, 2011 was very strong.' The number of Moncton hotel room rentals rose by 4.5 per cent in 2011, compared to the remarkable year before. The Maritime average, by comparison, was down 0.6 per cent last year.
Cunningham noted for instance Halifax in 2011 rented 400 more room nights than it did the year before, almost a flat line, statistically speaking. Moncton on the other hand grew its total by 23,000 room nights.
One particularly impressive fact, he said, was that Moncton rented all those rooms without deep discounts in rates, as some cities have done.
From Boston to St. John's, Moncton's rooms are in the middle of the pack in price.
'Clearly you are the winner in eastern Canada once again,' he told council.
If the picture was all rosy once again, Cunningham warned there might be thorns to watch for. First of all, he said in a down market economy, the only way to grow market share is to steal someone else's, and the price of Moncton being a head above the rest is that its head is sticking up for other cities to try and knock down.
'Don't become complacent, because you have become a target,' he said. 'Continue to raise the bar. It shows confidence and often it works and you are good at it.' He also said shopping is no longer the major force driving retail, now that many other Maritime centres are offering most of the same stores Metro Moncton has, However, when asked by councillors what the secret was, be it events and sport tourism, shopping, bilingual service or even the opening of Casino New Brunswick, Cunningham said he believed the appeal, 'is the Moncton package overall.' For instance, even though shopping is no longer a unique appeal, it is still a value added experience. Speaking of one of his own experiences staying in a Moncton hotel during an old timer's hockey tournament, where whole families came to town instead of just the players and he saw wives laden down with shopping bags on every trip through the lobby.
Wives didn't tell their husbands to go off and have a good time the way they might when the team is going to many other cities. Instead they said, 'I'm coming with you.' Cunningham said visits to Moncton area tourist attractions were up 6.2 per cent last year, while New Brunswick tourist attractions overall saw a seven per cent decline.
In the bigger picture, 'you won (posted the most growth) in every segment of the market,' he said, be it the Quebec market, American market, international or regional market.
Prev
Although I wouldn't mind at all if Moncton were to reach such great heights with its residential developments...I think focusing on in-fill, and replacing the horrid amount of surface parking lots in the downtown with density instead of allowing the majority of development to go to Moncton's expanding business parks and residential subdivisions, is more rational....
)
Linear Mode
