For a while, it was looking like this would be a good summer for Canadian tourism. With the border still closed, it was hoped that Canadians would spend their vacations – and their travel budget – domestically.
Ottawa’s announcement yesterday changed that. With fully-vaccinated Canadians able to travel abroad, then return to Canada and avoid quarantine as of 05JUL, one of the biggest impediments to a restart of the outbound travel industry appears to be in its final days.
That has the travel industry hoping the booking floodgates will open soon.
On the flip side, some inter-provincial travel restrictions remain in place, which means that some Canadians chomping at the bit to get travelling again may leapfrog over domestic tourism, and go straight to international destinations.
At the same time, the federal government’s Phase I of a border reopening plan, while it gives vaccinated Canadians a pass to travel, still bars all foreign tourists from entering. That means American citizens are still locked out, as well as those who’ve got vacation homes or have regularly made Canada a summer travel destination.
It's a double whammy for Canada’s tourism industry.
“This is f-ing devastating. It’s absolutely a gut punch,” The Star quotes Chris Bloore, president of the Travel Industry Association of Ontario in its report.
Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty said in a written statement that the 05JUL announcement, “will helpfully make it easier for Canadians who travel abroad for business purposes, but continues to prevent visitors who want to come to Canada. Canadian communities whose jobs and livelihoods rely on tourism ... will continue to feel the impact of these excessive restrictions.”
TIAO’s Bloore points out that a lack of details about when Americans and other foreign tourists might be able to travel to Canada prevents tourism businesses from planning to ramp up operations.
Summer provides the bulk of revenues to the sector, and another lost summer may well prove fatal to many domestic tourism businesses. It’s also feared that turning American and other guests away again this year will result in a permanent loss of customers who find alternate summer vacation options.
At the same time, COVID-related subsidies are winding down. A TIAO member survey revealed Ontario tourism companies have already increased their debt “into the six figures,” Bloore said. “Some of them might not survive because of this.”
