B.C. tourism sectors welcome suspension of COVID vaccine mandates for domestic travel

B.C.’s hospitality and tourism sectors are hoping the federal government’s decision to end its COVID vaccine mandate for domestic and outbound international travellers will bring a bump in business. They also hope more changes will be coming.

Nolan Marshall III with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association feels every time restrictions are loosened, it benefits that community.

“I think, in economic development, we’re all looking for signals. This is an important signal … allowing international travellers (into Canada) without proof of vaccination is going to be another signal. It’s a signal to those people who are travelling and a signal to the workers who work in the industry that the pandemic is behind us and it is safe to return to work,” he said.

“Signals that we’re approaching normalization are critical to both parts of us having a holistically successful tourism sector.”

Related Article: Canada announces suspension of vaccine mandates for domestic travel

Walt Judas with the Tourism Industry Association of B.C. also wants to see international travellers allowed into Canada without having to prove they’ve been vaccinated. However, he says some large gatherings of out-of-province visitors may benefit from the change announced by the feds on Tuesday.

“I think one of the sectors that will benefit is the meetings and events side,” Judas explained. “Delegates coming from other parts of the country just aren’t attending those conventions because of the vaccine mandate. But now obviously, they have the freedom to do it.”

However, he notes most people in Canada have long since received a second COVID dose, so this change may not result in a huge bump in visitors.

Judas sees no reason to continue requiring inbound international travellers to be fully vaccinated.

“We’re able to do everything that we might normally do — go to a movie, go to the grocery store, visit an attraction, eat in a restaurant — whether we’re vaccinated or not. So there shouldn’t be a restriction against people from out of the country that are unvaccinated. That will definitely help boost tourism again.”

He hopes that restrictions will be lifted when they expire at the end of this month.

The longer travel restrictions remain, the longer B.C. travel businesses have to compete with destinations that have few COVID-19 requirements, Ingrid Jarrett with the B.C. Hotel Association says.

“Our competition is all of those destinations that really, have been back to business for a year now. And here, we are still with this friction at the border, where if you’re going to choose a destination without any need for filling out an app, or wondering whether or not you’re eligible to go, or whether or not you’re going to have to have a test and that kind of thing. You’re going to choose the destination that is easiest to get to, that isn’t going to be a problem and that is worry-free,” she said.

Jarrett suggests a focus is needed to support hesitant travellers to give them the confidence to plan a trip.

“For us, the focus must be the international market. And I’m talking about meetings, conferences, events, big conventions and associations,” she explained.

“Until we actually come out and say Canada’s open for business, we want the world to return, which we had a very strong international market pre-pandemic, we need those people to come back. We can’t survive on domestic travel only. And I think this announcement will make very little difference to the amount of demand and the recovery time for the industry after two very difficult years.”

The suspension of the vaccine mandates will take effect on June 20. However, mandatory vaccination will still apply to cruise ships and foreign nationals entering Canada.

The mask mandate for travellers will remain in place.