Partial Border Reopening an Important First Step in the Process of Rebuilding the Devasted Canadian Travel and Tourism Industry

OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 9, 2021 /CNW/ - The Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable ("the Roundtable") is encouraged that fully vaccinated American citizens and permanent residents who have received the full dose of a vaccine – or a combination of vaccines – are now eligible to cross the Canadian border without quarantine.

That said, while today marks an important milestone, it is only the first step in the long process of rebuilding an industry devastated by COVID-19 restrictions.

There is still much work to be done to successfully reopen the sector. To that end, the Roundtable calls on the federal government to take a leadership role on the following initiatives:

1. A commitment to Canadians that government will stay on course towards a well-managed and safe reopening.
2. The immediate development of a universally recognized digital vaccine certification program
3. Ongoing diplomatic efforts to guarantee the free passage for Canadians to countries with exclusionary programs such as the United Kingdom and the United States, and the international recognition of all vaccines approved by Health Canada, including AstraZeneca
4. Continue to work in partnership with the travel and tourism industry and the provincial governments to reassure Canadians that the extraordinary efforts being made by the sector means that travel within Canada remains safe

These initiatives are time sensitive and should not be delayed by a potential federal election.

"Today marks the first step in a massive rebuilding of the Canadian travel and tourism sector. The travel industry is not like a light switch that can simply be turned on and off. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the tourism sector. Notwithstanding today's news, significant barriers continue to keep tourists away and businesses shuttered. We need all governments to stay on course towards a well-managed and safe reopening of our economy," said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

"The Canadian travel and tourism industry has essentially lost two summer travel seasons in a row. It's now mid-August and we are only seeing a partial re-opening of the border. By September when Canada is expected to open its borders to the rest of the world, the summer travel season will have ended," said Beth Potter, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. "In our industry, one summer's day has the same economic value has an entire week in the winter. We encourage the government to make travel easy by introducing one vaccine passport for Canadians, and to communicate to Canadians that is safe and feasible to travel," added Ms. Potter.

SOURCE Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable

Randi Rahamim, [email protected]