The number of All Terrain Vehicle enthusiasts is growing in the province.
But the President for Quad NB says it had yet to be recognized as a tourism sport yet, “The government needs to change its way of thinking. The sport is growing exponentially. This is going to be a massive tourism venue.”
Aron Tavender says this is a goal of their group, “They are constantly meeting with MLA’s and politicians to try and get more and more privileges when it comes to ATVing and more and more access. It is a slow process.
Tavender believes the sport of snowmobiling is on the decline due to shortened winters. He says the access get hard when they come off the mountain. He feels communities could gain from growth in the sport of ATVing instead.
He says there is currently around 17, 000 registered snowmobilers versus around 55, 000 ATVers in New Brunswick.
Quad NB, otherwise known as New Brunswick ATV Federation, oversees 54 ATV Clubs across the province.
The Albert County Trail Blazers recently approached Riverview Town Council in an effort to get access to more roads in the community. Tavender says this would benefit the community economically, because ATVers would be able to travel more easily for fuel, and food, and would mean more exposure for businesses.
He adds, other provinces have already granted this access and are seeing the benefits.
