N.B.'s travel rebate program has already brought in more than $17M in claims

A tourism program designed to pay New Brunswickers to vacation at home has brought more than $17 million in claims more than expected when it was launched because of the pandemic.

Introduced in July as a way to offset the pandemic's chillon tourism, theExplore NB Travel Incentive programallowedresidentsto apply for a 20 per cent rebate on travel expenses of up to $1,000 incurred in the province. The travel had to include an overnight stay, between July 15 and Sept. 30.

The receipts, whichhad to be submitted by Oct. 30, have now been tallied and the numbers are better than expected.

Erika Jutras, acting communications director for the Ministry of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, said Wednesday that they had expected to get about 20,000 submissions for rebates.

In fact, they got 25,232 submissions, with claims totalling $17,409,313.64 which will mean $3,481,862.73 in rebates.

"We had great success with the program," Jutras said in an email. "It's clear New Brunswickers were excited by itand took advantage of traveling within the province over the summer."

The program has been extended to March 2021.

'It was nice to get some of that money back'

Some of the 25,000-plus New Brunswickerswho took the government up on their rebate offer said they would have taken the trip anyway.

Others said they parlayed the increased focus on stay-here travel into a new business venture to help offset the damage the pandemic caused to their original line of work.

Chris Leger, a Moncton-based photographer and dyed-in-the-wool traveller, says the rebate was appreciated, but wasn't a deciding factor in his summer plans.

• Province will pay New Brunswickers to travel at home
• Deadline looms to claim summer travel expenses

"Every year we take a trip to Grand Manan, so this year it was nice to get some of that money back," he said.

Holly and Martin Waltz also claimed the rebate after their trip to Campobello Island.

"But we would have gone on the trip, regardless," Holly said.

She's undecided on whether they'll take the province up on its extended rebate offer, but said she suspects tourist operators would much rather"just receive financial assistance directly."

Dieppe-based photographer Sharlie Faye Lemieux did a lot of travelling this summer and figures the rebate helped spur most of it.

Lemieux said her usual summer photography gigs includingwedding, honeymoon and boudoir photography took a heavy hit because of COVID-19.

"One of the ways I coped with having to cancel so many sessions ...was by partnering with different Airbnb's and local stays to be able to promote travelling locally," Lemieux said.

Exactly how much of a boon was it?

It's not known yet how that crucial two-and-a-half-month stretch stacked up against the same period in previous years, or which destinations were the most popular with rebate seekers, Jutras said.

"We are still analyzing data"on the destinations, she said, and Statistics Canada only provides annual data on numbers.

However, accommodation room sales data for the same period, provided under Tourism Indicators on the government's website, show that sector was down by more than half compared to the two years previous.

• July, August and September 2018: 650,282 room nights sold
• July, August and September 2019: 646,172 room nights sold
• July, August and September 2020: 271,211 room nights sold

When will you get your rebate?

All rebate applications must have been submitted by Oct. 30.

A note on the government's travel incentive program page advises that, "dueto the large number of claims submitted for the summer Explore NB Travel Incentive Program, we are not able to confirm status of your claim at this time."

Jutras said Wednesday thatpayments are now being processed and refunds "will begin to be issued in the coming weeks for those who qualify."

No cutoff date has been announced yet for submissions for the extended 2021 rebate, but residents who plan to travel in New Brunswick between now and March 31, 2021 should keep their receipts, Jutras said.