B.C. tourism industry dealing with pandemic, wildfires and record staffing shortages
Tourism operators across B.C. trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic are now facing more challenges, including raging wildfires and record low staffing levels.
The Rocky Mountaineer company only runs sightseeing tours from spring to fall, and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, October 2019 was the last tour. Operations finally resumed this year on July 5.
“(We had), obviously, all the procedures to be safe with COVID, and then the fires started, so that’s impacted our train,” said CEO Mark Southern.
Some rail lines across B.C. have been closed due to fires burning either on or near the tracks.
“The corridor between Vancouver and Kamloops has been mostly closed, also between Quesnel and Whistler has been mostly closed; we haven’t been able to get trains through there,” Southern said. “That’s where we’ve been motor-coaching guests between Vancouver and Kamloops and then putting them back on a train.”
Still, Southern admits the challenges of altering operations to get around wildfires are “minor inconveniences compared to the devastation some of these communities have had to go through.”
Hotel operators are also being impacted, according to the B.C. Hotels Association. The group’s president and CEO, Ingrid Jarrett, says some areas are seeing cancelled bookings.
“South Okanagan, certainly the Interior and Kamloops, I think people are very cautious both to understand road openings or closures, as well as air quality,” Jarrett said.
Large parts of the southern Interior and Okanagan remained under an air quality advisory Saturday, though smoky conditions were beginning to ease with cooler temperatures through the week.
On top of the pandemic and wildfire challenges, the industry is also dealing with record low staffing levels.
Jarrett said between 30,000 and 35,000 workers are needed across the province right now.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.