B.C. tourism industry urges government to remove all COVID travel requirements

Travel industry groups in B.C. are pleading with the federal government to drop all remaining COVID-19 border testing rules.

They say fully vaccinated Canadians and others arriving in the country shouldn’t have to pay for tests and be subject to what they call outdated measures.

Pandemic travel measures have devastated the transport and hospitality sectors, bleeding billions of dollars from Canada’s airline sector and closing hotels in a whiplash of stop-and-go restrictions.

Vivek Sharma with the Tourism Industry Association of BC says they’re also facing a critical labour shortage.

“What we also need is a really clear strategy on how are we going to address the workforce shortage that we have in the industry. The shortage is not a shortage anymore, it is a critical challenge. And as travel starts to rebound, if our partners in the industry, they do not have the workforce, we will not be able to meet the demand,” Sharma said.

“We really need to look deeply at how our temporary foreign workers program works. It’s the processing time, and as an industry for this year, we really urge that the government should remove the LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) requirements so that we can bring foreign workers into the country right now as soon as we can.”

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COVID-19 travel restrictions were updated so vaccinated travellers will no longer need to show a molecular COVID-19 test to enter Canada. Instead, they will need to present a rapid antigen test approved by the country from which it is purchased.

However, Sharma emphasizes all restrictions need to be lifed otherwise they will remain as “roadblocks” for travellers coming into Canada.

“If that is not done, our country will not be competitive in the international travel market.”

Sharma expects local resort communities with leisure travel to rebound faster but he is concerned for business and corporate travel.

With the cruise ship industry being one of the hardest hit sectors through the pandemic, Sharma expects it to take time to rebound. Even with more people inquiring about cruises, with all these travel restrictions, people may have second thoughts about travelling to Canada.

Sharma says he is “cautiously optimistic” about the future.

“As an industry, we are always, a forward-looking positive looking industry. But there are still roadblocks in front of us … and we need to keep working with the government and removing those roadblocks.”

B.C. folks ready to travel: survey

Meanwhile, with some COVID-19 restrictions eased across much of the country, it looks some British Columbians are ready to get out of town.

Namita Kearns with BCAA says their latest survey finds two-thirds of people plan to travel in 2022 and 2023.

“They’re feeling competent in travelling. And they’re also doing the extra research and preparation before they travel,” she said, adding people are studying, “What are the rules and policies for foreign visitors to those destinations? And then also making sure they have the right travel insurance and understanding their coverage before they meet for their trip.”

Compared to a similar study BCAA last year, Kearns says people’s concerns have definitely changed.

“Last year, people were more concerned about being exposed to COVID and getting sick on their trip.”

The survey found 84 per cent of British Columbians are now worried about getting stuck somewhere due to changing rules, testing positive or having to quarantine versus fear of actually getting sick from the virus.

Kearns adds 80 percent of the people surveyed intend to buy travel insurance, which she finds encouraging so people can travel stress-free.

– With files from The Canadian Press