Town of Sackville continues to buck tourism trends

Sackville's tourism numbers continued on an upswing in July, bucking a trend that has seen numbers throughout the Maritimes on the decline this summer.
"I think this is really remarkable, given what the tourism industry was anticipating this year," said Coun. John Higham during council's regular meeting last Monday night.
"So either we're outstanding in what we're doing or they were wrong."
Coun. Merrill Fullerton said it's incredible that the town has been able to achieve a spike in tourism numbers when most markets throughout Eastern Canada are down.
"We're outpacing the industry," he said.
Liaison councillor for the tourism department Joyce O'Neil said the local visitor information centre has been a hive of activity this summer, posting an 11 per cent increase over last year for July.
It was also reported last month that May and June's numbers were also up at the VIC.
O'Neil noted that more than 75 per cent of the increase in July can be attributed to tourists coming from the New England States, while there was also a slight increase in visitors from Quebec and Ontario.
"I think some of the great events we had here added to the visitor flow," said O'Neil.
Town officials say there are a number of factors that might have lead to the tourism bounty this year - including the large number of festivals and musical events in the community, the unique new signage on the highway, enhanced advertising promotion, and increased training to front-line staff.
"We've been building on this for a number of years," said Coun. Virgil Hammock.
"I think there's been a number of right moves by local businesses and the local tourist industry . . ."