American businesses, tourists thrilled Canada dropping COVID test entry requirement

American business owners, tourists, and travel agents are happy vaccinated travellers will likely soon no longer need a negative COVID-19 test to come to Canada.

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos along with Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra are scheduled to provide an update on COVID-19 border measures at 7:30 a.m. local Thursday, and are reportedly going to announce the change will happen April 1, a government source tells CityNews.

Flight Centre Travel Group agent Allison Wallace says she saw a jump in booking when people were able to get by with just a rapid test instead of the more expensive PCR tests.

“But the rapid test still was a deterent, and it’s still a hassle and they’re still an extra cost. So having this removed for fully vaccinated travelers will have an immediate and a very significant impact to the travel industry,” she said, adding while this will put the travel industry on the path to recovery, she thinks it will still take at least a year before companies get back to making a profit and seeing pre-pandemic travel levels.

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Gary Slavin grew up and had his kids in Burnaby, but now lives in Blaine. This change means family being together again and them finally being able to see the new restaurant he started during the pandemic.

“My oldest son is the first one out of our family and friends to see one of our restaurants nobody has seen our second restaurant,” the owner of Gateway Taphouse and Rustic Fork Italian Eatery said. “This is huge. We’ve been waiting for this announcement for over two years.”

With two businesses right on the border with Canada, he is estatic with the change. He says back in November when border restrictions briefly loosened, his customer levels spiked to summer levels, so he expects a rush in the first few days.

Bellingham’s Joe Golden says she loves Vancouver. She came up once last summer, but the testing part of it was a big hassle.

“My friends and I decided, ‘You know what, we’ll just wait until that restriction gets lifted.’ So not having that restriction is gonna be fantastic,” she said, adding she has her Nexus ready. “I think what I’ve missed the most is just the ability to be spontaneous.”

Wallace says if possible, it would be better if the government did away with the tests immediately so people on Spring Break can make the most of it, but if the policy does go into effect April 1, it will still give the industry the entire summer travel season.

Staff shortages and fuel costs may be hurdles for those looking to get out of Canada. She encourages anyone looking to travel in the near future to book as soon as they can, because prices are only expected to go up and the world reopens.

“Definitely if you’re planning to travel this year, get your tickets now because they probably are only going to go in one direction and it’s not the direction the consumer will want,” she said.

The current rules require anyone entering Canada to provide proof of a negative rapid test within a day of their flight or within a day of arriving at the border.

The government eased some restriction last month, dropping the PCR test and accepting a rapid test instead.

Random PCR tests will reportedly continue and travellers will still have to use the Arrive-Can app.

While the United Kingdom announced plans to drop all COVID-19 restrictions on travel, including a vaccine requirement, the United States and Australia still require a negative COVID-19 test to enter their countries.

While Canada’s handle on COVID-19 cases has been improving over the last several weeks, the World Health Organization says rates have begun to creep up in Europe and other parts of the world.