The Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable (The Roundtable) released a letter on 14FEB calling on the federal government to develop a road plan for the removal of pre-departure and on-arrival testing for fully vaccinated travellers.
“The Canadian Travel and Tourism industry is calling on the federal government to lay out a plan with a clear timeline for removing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers and their children, including removing unnecessary pre-departure and on-arrival testing and isolation requirements and blanket travel advisories,” the letter wrote.
The Roundtable highlighted that “only 1 [per cent] of all cases of COVID-19 in Canada have been related to travel,” and that the test positivity rate reached “ten times what it was at our borders,” during the last wave.
“There is no logical or scientific reason that travel should be singled out as the only activity that requires testing and isolation,” the group said.
The Roundtable also highlights that the travel industry has had a “strong support for vaccination,” throughout the pandemic. Both the travel industry, and travellers themselves, are subject to mandatory vaccination, it pointed out.
“As provinces come out of lockdowns and with the spring and summer travel seasons on the horizon, we urgently request that the federal government allow the travel and tourism sector to reopen alongside all other sectors of the economy,” wrote the Roundtable.
According to reports, Canada is expected to drop the requirement for PCR tests for return travel. However, a negative antigen test will reportedly be required to enter or re-enter the country after the change is made to travel requirements.
As previously reported by Open Jaw, Canada lags behind other countries in terms of easing travel restrictions, despite top doctors saying that the government they advise must revise policies to allow for a return to “normalcy” without “unduly restricting travel and trade.”
Destinations such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway, have lifted travel restrictions; while countries such as England, Scotland, Ireland, and Switzerland have also already dropped testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers.
