Tourism department attempts to steer cruise ships north

The New Brunswick government is paying a Saint John tour company $50,000 to help communities in northern New Brunswick attract more cruise ships.

Aquila Tours was hired to consult with local governments and port authorities on how to boost cruise ship traffic to Caraquet, Miramichi, Dalhousie and Shippagan.

Tourism Minister Trevor Holder said the plan is to bring in smaller vessels from New England that carry up to 400 passengers per ship.

"I think we have some opportunities, particularly with the smaller cruise lines in the near future," Holder said.

Daniel Landry, the economic development officer forCaraquet, said that size is all the city can handle right now along the Bay de Chaleur.

"You just have to learn how to walk before you can start running," Landry said.

"We can host boats of 400 or 500 feet [122 or 152 metres ] no problem."

Last summer, two cruise ships each carrying 120 passengersfrom New England docked at the port in Caraquet. Holder estimates each passenger spends about $60 per day.

Four more cruises are scheduled to return there this summer.

"We think that in other ports across northern New Brunswick, whether it's Dalhousie or Miramichi, there could be opportunities as well," Holder said.

"It means new money for our operators and the local community that they come into," he said.

"It means new tax revenue for the government."

The tourism department plans to roll out its cruise strategy for northern New Brunswick later in the year.

In December, Holder told the legislature the cruise industry is an emerging market that could be developed province-wide, and he felt"confident that the expanding cruise industry, the same one that began by chance about 20 years ago at the Port in Saint John, will continue to be an important part of New Brunswicks tourism business."

Holder added that at least eight tall ships will visit Miramichi between May 23 and June 1. He called it the largest gathering of tall ships in Atlantic Canada, outside of Halifax.