See Sight Tours Enhances Saint John Visitor Experience

News release

Tour boat excursions will complement current offerings and boost tourism industry   

August 1, 2019  – Saint John, NB – Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Enabling Atlantic Canadian communities to build on their tourism offerings helps to attract more visitors to the region, create more jobs and strengthen the local economy.

Today, Wayne Long, Member of Parliament for Saint John-Rothesay, participated in a grand opening event for  See Sight Tours, a company offering boat tours around Reversing Fall and in the Saint John area. The Government of Canada, through the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program (REGI) contributed more than $60,000 to support this tourism experience. MP Long made the funding announcement on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).

Thanks to the federal government support, the company has hired a marine operations manager and purchased a boat along with related equipment. See Sight Tours’ unique offerings include four-hour excursions and scheduled boat tours that will help extend the peak tourism season in Saint John from May to November.

This investment builds on commitments made by the Government of Canada and the four Atlantic Provinces to drive economic growth in the region through the Atlantic Growth Strategy by helping the region’s tourism industry attract more visitors and create new jobs across the region. This bold approach is in line with Canada’s Tourism Vision, which seeks to make Canada a top-ten global tourism destination by 2025.

Quotes

“Atlantic Canada has character and a geography that draws visitors from across Canada and around the world. Tourism is of strategic importance to Atlantic Canada. That’s why further expanding the region’s tourism industry is an important objective of the Atlantic Growth Strategy.”

-        The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie

“Through ACOA, our government is proud to support projects like this one for See Sight Tours that promote diversification, build vitality in communities and enhance the regional economy. This investment is great news for See Sight Tours and the City of Saint John. It will uniquely complement the many tourism gems found in our region such as the City Market, the Skywalk at Reversing Falls and the Martello Tower.”

–    Wayne Long, Member of Parliament for Saint John-Rothesay on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA

“We are grateful that the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of investing in tourism and we are honoured to be a part of the development here in the great city of Saint John. We are inspired by the warm hospitality the community has shown us and are excited to return the favour by investing in the people of Saint John. We would like to extend a sincere thank you to ACOA, Discover Saint John, the Port of Saint John, Marc Gosselin, Janine Harris, the City of Saint John and everyone else that has assisted in the opening of See Sight Tours Jet Boats!”

–    John Albrecht, Manager, Eastern Canada – See Sight Tours 

Quick facts

  • The Government of Canada is making a repayable contribution of $30,875 toward the boat purchase project through ACOA’s REGI program, as well as a non-repayable contribution of $30,000 for the marine operations manager project. 

  • The REGI program continues to build on the objectives of the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan.

  • The Regional Innovation Ecosystems stream of the REGI program supports the creation and growth of inclusive regional ecosystems that support business needs and fosters an entrepreneurial environment conducive to innovation, growth and competitiveness.

  • Tourism represents more than 2% of the total value of Canada’s goods produced and services provided.

  • Tourism supports more than 1.8 million jobs in Canada.

  • See Sight Tours already runs successful operations in Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Charlottetown. The company is expanding further into the Maritimes to take advantage of existing opportunities in the region. 

  • See Sight Tours received a Certificate of Excellence five years in a row from Tripadvisor and has a five star rating through Yelp. 

Contacts

John Albrecht
Manager, Eastern Canada
See Sight Tours
905-328-8132

Ann Kenney
Senior Communications Officer
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
506-452-3687
ann.kenney@canada.ca

Page details

Date modified: