B.C.'s hard-hit tourism sector applauds relaxed travel testing requirements

The federal government is lifting pre-entry COVID-19 testing requirements for fully-vaccinated travellers next month.

The move will have big benefits for British Columbia, reviving the province’s once-thriving tourism sector, which has been crippled by pandemic restrictions.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

The relaxed rules take effect April 1 and will make it easier and cheaper to travel by air, land or water.

Quick trips across the land border for gas and groceries will be practical once again.

“I think it's fair to say that we are now entering into a transition phase of this pandemic,” said Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal Health Minister in a news conference Thursday.

However, Duclos warns all measures are subject to change.

“As the weather warms and people spend more time outside, we can expect to see transmission decline in the coming months, but we have to be prepared for a waning of collective and individual immunity,” he said.

Starting next month, fully vaccinated travelers can simply show proof of vaccination through the ArriveCan app.

Passengers may still be subjected to random PCR testing at the airport, but they will not be required to isolate while awaiting their results.

Unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated travellers will still need to isolate and be tested on arrival, and again eight days later.

Unless otherwise exempt, all travellers five or older who are not fully vaccinated must continue to provide proof of an accepted type of pre-entry COVID-19 test result.

The U.S. is still currently requiring all arriving air passengers two or older to show a negative test no more than a day before departure, regardless of their vaccination status.

Travellers may instead present documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days.

REBUILDING B.C.'S TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY SECTORS

B.C.’s hard hit tourism sector is welcoming the changes.

“We've been looking forward to this day, we've been calling for it for a long, long time. Our industry now can plan for the rest of the year, looking forward to welcoming international guests back,” said Walt Judas of the Tourism Industry Association of BC.

Judas says the current restrictions have been a major barrier, and made many businesses unsustainable.

He believes it could take the tourism and hospitality sectors anywhere from three to five years to recover from the pandemic.

“In 2019, our sector was worth about $23.3 billion. The revenues generated in 2020, which was the last measurable year, dropped to just over $7 billion. So we lost more than two-thirds of revenues in the tourism and hospitality sector during the pandemic,” said Judas.

He says local businesses that predominantly welcome international visitors will have to start aggressively marketing in order to compete with other destination cities.

“There is pent up demand, no question, but there's also a lot of competition for that lucrative visitor throughout the world,” said Judas.

However, B.C. is facing a looming labour shortage with tens of thousands of empty positions in the hospitality and tourism sectors.

“There are a lot of things that we need to do as an industry to create careers, again, not just jobs, but allow people to enter our sector and carve out a long term career,” Judas told CTV News.

The province promised funding last week to encourage more students to enter the tourism field.

THE RETURN OF CRUISE SHIPS

One of the other notable changes to travel requirements is the rules for cruise ships.

When the season starts in early April, cruise passengers will still be required to take an antigen test in order to board a ship no more than one day before their scheduled departure, but will no longer need to be tested before getting off the ship.

“All other aspects of the public health framework for cruises that I announced last week in Halifax such as the requirement to be vaccinated in order to board will remain in place,” said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said during Thursday's announcement.

Judas says that new rule will give B.C.’s cruise sector a big boost.

“It’s over a $3 billion sector for our province. It's incredibly important for retailers for the hotels, the restaurants, the attractions, the transportation companies. There's a whole ecosystem that's built around each time a cruise ship docks.,” said Judas.

He says the thousands of jobs are connected to cruise ships and argues that’s just as important as the visitor economy.

The first cruise ship since the industry was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic arrives in Victoria April 6, and then in Vancouver on April 7.