Canada's Travel Rules Hurting Tourism Industry Small Businesses, Keeping International Travellers Out of Canada and Threatening Alberta Ski Season for Operators

• Mandatory pre-departure PCR testing for fully vaccinated international travellers is keeping international visitors at home and devastating small businesses
• Small business operators and the Canadian Travel & Tourism Roundtable call on the federal government to remove the pre-departure PCR test for fully vaccinated visitors
• The Roundtable urges the government to align travel policies for land and air to reduce the obstacles to travel and allow small Canadian tourism businesses to recover fully

BANFF, AB, Nov. 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Together with the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable ("The Roundtable"), business operators in Banff, Alberta, are calling on the federal government to remove unnecessary and non-science-based obstacles to international travel, such as the pre-departure PCR test for fully vaccinated travellers as they are threatening the success of Alberta's ski season. The Roundtable calls on the federal government to align policies for land and air travel to allow the travel and tourism sector to recover fully.

Banff has long been a prime tourist destination for international visitors looking to take in the richness of the Rocky Mountains. However, since the onset of the pandemic, business operators in Banff who have come to rely on international visitors, particularly during the winter season are struggling and are at risk of permanent closure. Simply put, international travellers are not returning. In 2019-2020, Banff National Park lost 300,000 visitors compared to the year prior. ¹ While in the first half of 2021, there were 1.1 million visitors compared to 1.2 million in 2019, local tourists don't spend their dollars the same way international travellers do. International travellers seek out supports, such as tour operators or guided activities and hotels also have lower bookings, since many visitors come from nearby cities.

The past 19 months have been incredibly tough on Banff's tourism economy, and this winter travel season is evolving into an even more dire situation. The federal government's imposition of mandatory PCR testing for fully vaccinated travellers keeps international travellers away, leaving Banff's small businesses to fend for themselves.

For the average family, travel to Canada is becoming increasingly difficult. The burdensome cost of a PCR test can add over $200 per person or an additional $800 for a family of four to visit Canada. This fee proves cost-prohibitive to many international visitors who are simply choosing to stay home and spend their money elsewhere.  

Canada's rules run counter to the recommendations made by the federal government's COVID-19 Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel Report ("The Expert Panel"), which concluded that fully vaccinated travellers should not require a pre-departure test.

Canada's travel rules are out of step with the international community. Countries including France, Portugal, Germany and the United Kingdom have recognized that requiring pre-departure and arrival tests for vaccinated travellers is redundant and have exempted fully vaccinated travellers from pre-departure testing requirements.

Although many had travel bookings lined up over the November-December period, the travel and tourism industry is bracing – yet again – for cancellations, with international visitors looking to either cancel or delay long-awaited winter trips and family visits. This is making it difficult to resource, understand hiring needs and to predict demand.

The pandemic, vaccination status, and available science have changed; so too should the response and measures to keep Canadians safe while allowing the travel and tourism industry to re-open. Alberta's middle class and the small business operators who form the backbone of Canada's communities depend on it.   

Quotes

"In normal years, Banff Sunshine, Lake Louise, and Mt. Norquay play host to many international visitors looking for an alpine winter escape and good old fashioned family fun. But this year, we are once again facing a government that seems indifferent to the needs of travel and tourism operators, choosing to impose unnecessary pre-departure tests on fully vaccinated international visitors.  This policy has real impacts on Banff and Lake Louise businesses like SkiBig3.

This costly, confusing and cumbersome process sends a clear message to our skiers and snowboarders: keep out. Without international travellers, many businesses like SkiBig3 are facing an existential crisis and can't predict with any confidence how many staff to hire. Ski season has kicked off and we will be faced with mass international cancellations if something is not done soon."

-   Pete Woods
President and CEO of SkiBig3

"The PCR test is a major barrier for international visitors hoping to travel across the border. The result is that many families – particularly Americans who make up the a significant amount of Banff's winter visitors – are simply choosing to spend their money elsewhere. The cost and inconvenience is too high, and until the federal government takes action to reduce the obstacles to travel, small Canadian tourism businesses in Alberta will not be able to fully recover ." 

-  Darren Reeder
      Board Advisor, Tourism
Industry Association of Alberta

"For small businesses in Banff, we haven't seen international travel return and many of us will not survive the winter. As small businesses, we did everything we could to support the pandemic effort. Now, we ask the government to change the rules so we can begin to get back to business."

-  Andrew Matergio
Owner of Banff SoulSki and Bike

"Banff's hospitality sector is incredibly dependent on international travel. Many of our restaurants are facing another winter season of staff cutbacks and low revenues without international visitors. Despite considerable effort and creative marketing solutions on our part, there is only so much we can do to encourage visitors to support local Banff businesses in the face of unnecessary restrictions on fully vaccinated international visitors. We need the federal government to make common-sense changes to the rules so our businesses can stand a chance."

-  Katie Tuff
      Banff Hospitality Collective

About the Canadian Tourism Roundtable

The Canadian Tourism Roundtable is a cross-Canadian coalition of leaders in the tourism and travel sector – including representatives from airports, airlines, hotels, and chambers of commerce across the country – committed to working together to restart the sector smoothly and safely. Travel and Tourism is a $102 billion sector, employing millions of Canadians across the country and accounting for 2.1% of the country's gross domestic product. It advocates for a safe and prosperous tourism and travel sector across Canada. 
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¹ Number of visitors to Banff National Park in Canada 2011-2020, Statista Research Department, Oct 19 2021

SOURCE Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable

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