Amid gas price concerns, Fredericton’s tourism manager Stacey Russell said the city’s tourism rates halfway into the year are the same as 2025. “We were hesitant about how this season was going to go. However, we are seeing that we’re seeing visitors. We’re very, very thankful to be able to see many visitors here,” Russell said. The city markets its tourism to New England, Quebec, Ontario and other Maritime provinces, and Russell said people are coming. Mike Vokey, co-chair of the Fredrod Show ‘n Shine, said he’s also seeing more people coming from outside the city. More than 25 per cent of cars registered for the show are not local. “They’re coming from all over because the show really quickly gained a reputation of just being a fun event,” he said. The car exhibition is being hosted in Officers’ Square this weekend. In the past two years he said they’ve had between 10,000 and 15,000 attendees, but they’re hoping for more. Of the 500 available spaces for people to park their cars, 450 are already registered. “More than a car show, it’s like a car-themed festival,” he said. And that growth will help the city’s tourism sector. Russell said conventions, conferences and sport tournaments are major tourism contributors, but so are big events like Fredrod. “They are very welcome and we love to see it. It adds to that vibrancy, the economic impact and that vibe in the downtown,” she said. Across the street from the car show, Nomad Coffee’s manager Nick Murphy said events like Fredrod help the shop. “The tourism is a big bump for business. We definitely saw it happen as soon as the weather got nice out, we got a big bump in business, and a lot of events downtown actually bumped the business as well,” he said. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
