The tourism industry seems to be on the road to recovery in Southeast New Brunswick following the tough years since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020.

The CEO of Destination Moncton-Dieppe, the regional tourism marketing organization, says tourism activity appears to be returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Jillian Somers says the first quarter of this year has been exceptional for tourism operators.

“We’re really pleased with the numbers from an occupancy perspective. We’re getting very close to our 2019 numbers which were already record setting for our region.”

Somers says the month of May was especially strong with some tourism numbers outpacing 2019 levels.

“So that bodes well for the summer months too. We’re really excited to be welcoming and returning back to a ‘normal’ visitor economy or ecosystem that we would have enjoyed in the past.”

Somers says the impact of co-hosting the World Juniors hockey tournament earlier this year and partnerships with Tourism New Brunswick have really paid off and exposed the region to new markets.