As cases of COVID-19 recede and vaccinations ramp up, talks of reopening the Canada-U.S. border are ongoing—much to the relief of Canada’s tourism operators.
But with the current restrictions set to now expire on July 21, what the tourism industry is looking for at this stage is guidance, said Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC).
“Give us some dates or some markers that we can work toward, and let us know the criteria by which we can get there,” Judas said, pointing to the B.C. government’s four-step restart plan as a “very helpful” example.
“We know that it’s a combination of vaccinations and seeing COVID transmission rates being reduced, etc. (in B.C.), and so that allows tourism operators to plan for various stages … That’s kinda similar to what we’re saying to the federal government.
“What’s the criteria that we’re working toward? Is it herd immunity or 75 per cent of fully vaccinated Canadians, or is it a combination of one dose of vaccinations, but two doses for people that are travelling into Canada? And what are we looking at as far as dates?”
If the borders are to remain closed for an extended stretch, financial support for businesses, particularly those in the tourism and hospitality sector, can’t be reduced at the same time, Judas added.
According to the TIABC, nearly 4 million people from the U.S. visited B.C. for overnight stays in 2019 (the last “normalized” year, and the best year on record for Canadian tourism), accounting for about two-thirds of the 6 million overnight international visitors who came to B.C. that year.
“And then we had 2.3 million same-day visitors. So that represents over 6 million,” Judas said.
“Last year that dropped to a million in total, and that obviously was mostly people coming here for essential travel.”
The border closure is especially critical for the industry when you consider that Americans and visitors from other countries spend about three to five times as much as Canadian visitors, Judas added.
“So that’s where it really gets tricky for operators,” he said.
“They might be full of B.C. or Canadian residents over the course of the summer, but they don’t spend nearly the same amount that internationals do.”
International travel is also “critically important” to Whistler, said Tourism Whistler president and CEO Barrett Fisher, noting that international visitors make up 60 per cent of the market in winter and 40 per cent in summer (with the U.S. accounting for 30 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively).
“We are very hopeful that the speedier rollout of the vaccination program across Canada will in turn mean that borders can successfully open up sooner than some of the original forecasts,” Fisher said.
“But yes, we, like everyone else, are waiting to hear what health officials are saying.”
Canadian and U.S. officials met June 15 to discuss how to eventually lift border restrictions, with Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LaBlanc saying afterwards that a “phased approach” may be necessary in the coming months as the federal government works with provinces to ensure Canadians have a reliable way of proving their vaccination status.
With the expectation that international travellers show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Canada’s constitutional setup complicates the federal government’s efforts to facilitate vaccination passports.
“The provinces, by virtue of their jurisdiction, have ownership of the health information, the vaccination information regarding their citizens. So the conversation began a few weeks ago and it’s been ongoing between deputy ministers of health,” LaBlanc said.
“We are working with allies, obviously, in the European Union, the United States and others to find the most appropriate way to recognize proof of vaccination for citizens who want to travel internationally.”
LaBlanc said more details about Canada’s vaccination passport strategy would be made available in the coming weeks.
-with files from Tyler Orton, Business in Vancovuer
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