B.C.'s 'beaten up' tourism industry wants to know when international tourists can return
Last summer Ian MacPhee had his worst season ever.
And while the Business Development Manager for Prince of Whales whale watching tours is pretty confident this year won’t hit rock bottom, bookings that should be like a raging river are more like a trickle.
“We’re all feeling pretty low and pretty beaten up at this point,” MacPhee said.
On Monday, as Ottawa officially announced its first step to reopen the Canada-U.S. border since March 2020, MacPhee couldn’t help noticing what was missing.
“We’re really happy with the first step, but we need the second step to be quick on the heels of the first step,” he said.
That second step would be a plan to allow Americans and other international tourists to return, bringing a much needed boost to B.C.'s economy.
Typically, MacPhee said, Prince of Whales would be running up to 21 trips a week on its three high-speed catamarans.
So far this season, they’re lucky if they get six per week.
“It’s a very very very very slow start,” he said.
Walt Judas, the CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of B.C., said while he wasn’t surprised by the federal announcement, he too, thought it was lacking.
“We don’t have a sense of the timelines, we don’t know what other criteria (other than the 75 per cent fully vaccinated metric) they might be using,” Judas said.
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Monday she understood the frustration “of people who want certainty” and promised Ottawa would be transparent about the next steps, while giving few details.
Judas added: “Our fear is if the border doesn’t open until the fall or at the very least late summer, we will have missed a second straight year. And that’s going to hurt more operators.”
According to the association, tourism generated $22.3 billion in 2019. Last year’s final number, according to Judas, was less than $7 billion.
And Judas pointed out intra-provincial travel and domestic travel within Canada doesn’t make up for the 6 million Americans that visit B.C. every year.
Back on the dock, MacPhee pointed out the relaxing of travel restrictions for Metro Vancouverites which allows them to venture to Vancouver Island and the Okanagan, represented a sort of double whammy for his business, because so far there are few tourists coming in their wake.
Still, he said he’s choosing to be optimistic that Monday’s announcement will be followed by step two, three, then eventually, the finish line.
“I think we’ll have a modestly successful summer,” MacPhee predicted. “It won’t be like a normal year by any means.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.