Everything under the stars, including a new member who works under the stars, has been keeping us busy here at TIANB over the last couple of months. Among other projects, we’ve been sorting through scholarship applications to select four deserving recipients of our $1,000 Brighter Future in Tourism scholarship – read on to see the winners. And we continue to help connect employers with excellent candidates by collaborating with partners like the Multicultural Association of Fredericton.

I recently attended Rendez-vous Canada (Canada’s signature international tourism marketplace) in beautiful Quebec City. It was great to see so many familiar faces and finally meet people I hadn’t had the chance to meet face-to-face. I also met with colleagues from other industry associations across the country to discuss the files we all work on, many of which we share. RVC presented a wonderful opportunity to collaborate on the important issues we all face.  

I chatted with the CBC’s Clare MacKenzie on Information Morning to discuss the continued challenges and opportunities operators face going into the busy summer season ahead. The link to the interview is below.  

Many of you have already taken advantage of our extensive training opportunities, including NB Service Excellence and Responsible Beverage. I encourage all of you to consider upgrading skills for you and your staff. Ensuring we have well-trained people working on the frontline of our industry will only improve the wonderful product NB has to offer visitors to our region.

Finally, don’t forget to block November 14-16 in your calendar for our 2023 Tourism Summit and Awards Gala in Moncton, details are below. You won’t want to miss this one, our 40th – we promise to make it memorable!

Thanks for reading. – Andrew McNair, CEO

The TIANB 40th Annual Tourism Summit and Awards Gala will be held from November 14-16, 2023 at the Delta Hotels Beausejour in Moncton.

Be sure to save the date so we can all celebrate together. We'll be launching our Awards nominations pages this summer, so now is a great time to start thinking about which of the amazing tourism operators, destinations and businesses deserve to be feted in November.

Our block of rooms at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Beausejour has been reserved and you can book your stay here.

Registration will be open soon with special rates for TIANB members. If you haven't yet renewed your membership for 2023-24, now is a great time.

If you've already done so, you'll be receiving a membership package soon, with your 2023-24 TIANB member window sticker included.

Cliff Valley Astronomy CEO Stéphane Picard and his Starmobile

Please join us in welcoming the newest member to the TIANB team: Cliff Valley Astronomy.

Leading the charge to bring Astrotourism to New Brunswick, CEO Stéphane Picard has built a company that specializes in stargazing and private star parties across the province, ideal for making visits to the campground or cottage truly special. 

Cliff Valley Astronomy also offers Astro-tourism-themed vacation and travel packages across Eastern Canada.

Additionally, they have partnered with operators in New Brunswick such as Glamping with the Sea in Cocagne, Storeytown Cottages in Doaktown, Falcon Ridge Inn in Alma and Nattuary Retreat in Gardner Creek.

They are now hard at work to bring us Canada's newest major astronomy event, Astronomy East, happening from April 5-7, 2024 in Miramichi.

Astronomy East will lead-up to their very special April 7-9 eclipse retreat in Doaktown: Sky Experience 2024 – which is already 80% sold out.

To learn more about Cliff Valley Astronomy, Astronomy East and Sky Experience 2024, please visit cliffvalleyastronomy.com.

To learn more about Astrotourism, Dark Sky preserves and the opportunities they create for you, just read on!

Photo credit: Stéphane Picard, Quispamsis, N.B.

Astrotourism and you: how N.B. is poised to profit from this growing sector

Astro-tourism: an innovative, sustainable and responsible form of tourism that combines night sky observation, outreach and leisure activities related to astronomy.

Did you know that New Brunswick has four certified dark-sky sites? 

• Fundy National Park (Dark Sky Preserve)

• Kouchibouguac National Park (Dark Sky Preserve)

• Mount Carleton Provincial Park (Dark Sky Preserve)

• Irving Nature Park (Saint John) (Canada's first Urban Star Park)

In fact, N.B. has the most certified dark sky sites per capita than any other province in Canada. Given that 85% of the world's population lives under polluted skies, this puts us among some very select company.

“Dark-sky preserves are protected areas that make a special commitment to protect and preserve the night, reducing or eliminating light pollution in all forms” – Parks Canada.

Astrotourism is creating an economic boom for areas that cater to tourists who seek extraordinary night sky experiences. The Colorado Plateau alone expects Astrotourists to spend $5.8 billion over the next 10 years. The economic forecast for this region shows that astrotourism will generate $2.4 billion in higher wages and create 10,000 new jobs annually. 

What are the opportunities Astrotourism presents for you? 

First and foremost, N.B. is the best place in Canada to experience the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. It will be a once in a lifetime event for many in the province, and the areas of Fredericton, Woodstock, Florenceville-Bristol and Miramichi will all experience 100% totality, that is, complete coverage of the sun.

Other opportunities include:

• Partial eclipses of October 24, 2023 (about 10% obstructed) and March 25, 2025 (80%+ obstructed). Both will be visible across N.B.
• Meteor Showers (naked-eye and photography)
• Summer and Fall Milky Way season (naked-eye, telescopes, photography and astrophotography)
• Planets (Jupiter and Saturn returning to our Summer and Fall evening skies)
• Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights.

Each year brings different celestial events and paying attention to and preparing for upcoming astrotourism opportunities will certainly pay economic dividends for operators in the province.

How difficult is it to incorporate Astrotourism into your business' strategy? 

Not very, and surprisingly, there’s a low cost entry. Consider these facts:

• Astrotourism can complement your daytime activities by providing something for your visitors to do at night.
• It creates an experience they won’t soon forget: 80% of Canadians live in or near heavily-light-polluted urban centres and don't see the sky like we do. 
• According to US National Parks, it’s a key driver in converting day-trip visitors to overnight, tripling the average family of four's spend ($90 on avg./day-trip vs. $270+ overnight stay).

There’s always something to look forward to in the night sky!

After months of advocacy and collaboration with the federal government, our partners at Restaurants Canada were pleased to see Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finances, alongside with Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, announce lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses.

Restaurants Canada has been advocating for a long time for lower interchange fees on credit cards. In our last two pre-budget submissions, they asked for a reduction of these fees that represent an additional burden to our restaurant operators.

In its recent budget, the Liberal government confirmed they were working with two major credit card companies on interchange fees reductions, and now the details have been announced.

TIANB is thrilled to present four $1,000 scholarships to students studying in the Hospitality Industry. 

Our four winners are:

• Malik Rainford – Hotel and Restaurant Management, NBCC
• Danielle Funtañoz – Hotel and Restaurant Management, NBCC
• Olaitan Oluwaseyi Atologun – Hotel and Restaurant Operations, NBCC
• Cindy Guzmán – Hotel and Restaurant Management, NBCC

Among other requirements, applicants were asked to write a brief essay, entitled “Why I want to pursue a career in the tourism industry,” indicating their academic and career interests, their plans to achieve them, and why they have chosen to pursue Tourism as a career.

Congratulations to our four winners. We wish you continued success in your academic and professional pursuits!

TIANB will be attending a national strategic planning session with Tourism HR Canada in Ottawa from June 12-14. On the agenda will be the launch of Emerit 2.0 and micro credentialling, Discover Tourism and the launch of Workforce Management Engine and Competency Framework later this fall.

We are currently seeking employment opportunities for 143 candidates (local, national and international) who are seeking the following roles in N.B. businesses: kitchen helpers, servers, food service supervisors, restaurant managers, line cooks, chefs (pastry, various specialities and cuisines) counter attendants, hotel general managers, front desk agents, and housekeeping. For more information, please contact keri@tianb.com.  

Opportunities NB will be attending Destination Canada’s international recruitment mission on June 17-20, 2023 in Lyon, Marseille and Paris, France. If you are looking for help to recruit or to find talent, please reach out to keri@tianb.com.  

In the next few weeks, TIANB will be awarding prizes from our recent Sustainability in Tourism Contest to K-12 students throughout the province and will be announcing winners’ names soon.  

These amazing students truly demonstrated how operators in the province are doing amazing work meeting sustainable tourism guidelines as set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Tourism, and we look forward to sharing their work once the awards have been announced. 

TIANB CEO Andrew McNair joined CBC's Clare MacKenzie this week to discuss the outlook for the Tourism season in the province this summer.

Listen now on the CBC Listen app.