New Brunswick’s Tourism Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace has been facing questions about her claim that a trip she and her colleagues took to London and Paris last September has led to increased international tourism in the province. Scott-Wallace cited growth in visitors from Britain, France, and Germany in 2023 as evidence that the trip, which was funded by taxpayers, was worthwhile. However, data compiled by Statistics Canada shows that international visits to all provinces increased in 2023, and that the increases in New Brunswick were slightly below the national average. Critics have also pointed out that the increases in European tourism to New Brunswick were partially due to eased COVID-related travel restrictions, which suppressed visits in 2022.
In late April 2022, Canada lifted a number of COVID travel rules that had been restricting visits by international travelers. These changes had a major impact on tourism numbers, with visits to Canada from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany increasing by 65 percent in March 2023 compared to March 2022.
Overall, Canada recorded 786,845 arrivals from France, Germany, and Britain between January and December 2023, a 23.6 percent increase over 2022. In the New Brunswick Legislature, Scott-Wallace quoted numbers showing a combined 21.1 percent increase in visits to New Brunswick from those same three countries, slightly below the national gain.
Green Party Leader David Coon questioned Scott-Wallace about the value of the European trip for taxpayers and asked about planned future trips. The minister acknowledged that there has been a 10 percent, $56,000, increase in the section of her departmental budget that finances travel for the coming year but said there are no specific plans to go anywhere internationally.
Scott-Wallace ran up more than $10,000 in expenses during the eight-day visit, although she said her trip lasted only seven days because of flooding in her riding that required an early return. The department’s deputy minister, Yennah Hurley, billed more than $12,000.
