Moncton Chamber of Commerce Uses 350K in Federal Funding to Draw People to Downtown – New Brunswick | Globalnews.ca

Christopher Lopez, who manages the C’est la vie Café in downtown Moncton, says, COVID-19-Related restrictions, trade is nothing like it was before the pandemic.

“We’re seeing a slight improvement, but it’s nowhere near the same,” he said in an interview on Monday.

He said that even events like the Rotary Rib Fest or the Atlantic Nationals, which drew thousands to the city, are not making up for the less foot traffic of office workers.

“The perfect example is car shows…. We were expecting a lot of business. It was so hurtful. It really hurt me inside to work. A lot of the patio was just empty.”

John Wishart, CEO of the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce, expects the new programming they implement using a $350,000 investment from the federal government to make a difference.

They will be hiring five social media ambassadors who will conduct content advertising downtown events and businesses for 10 weeks this summer.

“So for a small business that probably doesn’t have a marketing budget, we’ll be there to help spread the word,” he said Monday.

He said some federal investments would pay for branded electric vehicles, which would allow them to travel down other main roads in New Brunswick.

The money will also be used to organize a festival promoting local businesses in mid-September.

“We’ll encourage many (New Brunswick businesses) to come to Moncton on a weekend in September, we’ll set up booths so they can sell their products and services, we’ll have some local musicians, we’ll have local food vendors. Complete The idea is to support the local,” he said.

Lopez commended the initiative, saying that while events and festivals brought many people to the city, a more targeted initiative was needed to bring people to the city.

Wishart is hoping that increased residential construction in the downtown core will lead to more stable foot traffic over the long term.

“There are probably fewer people working in the city than there are. More and more people are living in the city,” he said.