The pandemic travel landscape shifted suddenly on Thursday, with details about vaccine passports for international travel, the announcement of new or extended government support programs… and a quiet, simultaneous revision of the federal government’s blanket advisory against non-essential travel.
The federal government’s web site was updated late Thursday with no announcements or fanfare, but the implications for Canada’s travel trade are enormous.
Now, Canadians travelling abroad are advised to be fully vaccinated for the best protection against the COVID-19 virus, as authorities note that “community transmission of COVID-19 continues in many countries.”
Vaccinated Canadians travelling internationally are still advised to follow local health measures as well as continuing to mask, wash / disinfect hands frequently and try to stay physically distant. In addition, arrival protocols like testing and using the ArriveCAN app remain in place.
Unvaccinated Canadians are still advised against non-essential travel.
And - in a big blow to the travel industry - Canadians, regardless of vaccination status, are advised to avoid all cruise travel.
You can find full details of updated government travel advice here: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories
NOT SO FAST
The initial response from Canada’s travel industry was naturally celebration - tempered by concerns about the continued advice against cruising.
But there are other implications for Canada’s travel advisor community too.
Government travel advisories were updated simultaneous to the announcement of new government support programs announced by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Open Jaw provides more details about those new and updated support programs here, including a new Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit.
When the new programs were announced Thursday, ACTA said it asserted that the travel advisories and border restrictions effectively created a ‘lockdown’ scenario for travel agents.
If so, that could have qualified Independent Travel Advisors to the new Lockdown Benefit.
“ACTA is seeking clarification and asserts that the government consider travel advisories and border restrictions as a qualifying lockdown for travel agent entrepreneurs,” to receive the new Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit, it said shortly after the support programs announcement.
Now that the advisories for fully vaccinated Canadians - with the exception of cruise travel - have been lifted, Open Jaw asked ACTA if that now disqualifies advisors from accessing support via the new Lockdown Benefit.
ACTA president, Wendy Paradis, told Open Jaw, “For travel agents to start to recover from the economic impact of COVID, the lifting of the travel advisories is vital.”
However, she added, “We do not have enough information about the eligibility of the Lockdown benefit as this time to make an informed comment. However, ACTA is assertively advocating for sector specific financial support for our industry’s independent contractors and sole proprietors.”
Declining to say whether the timing of the new benefit announcement and the lifting of travel bans that might disqualify travel advisors from receiving that support seemed too coincidental, Paradis did reiterate, “ We have consistently let MPs and senior government officials know that due to the lag between bookings and when travel agent businesses receive income our industry will be vulnerable.”
Ultimately, ACTA’s Paradis says, “The government announcements of committing to financial support and lifting of the blanket “avoid all non-essential travel outside of the country” are significant steps forward in travel agency and travel survival and recovery.”
