Tour operators want Ottawa to consider switching requirement to rapid tests for returning Canadian travellers
With the U.S. border reopening for non-essential travel from Canada early next month, tour operators are trying to find a way to navigate the remaining requirement for a PCR test before returning home. An industry group is calling on the federal government to consider allowing rapid tests as an alternative.
It’s something Teresa Marshall, of Surrey-based Pitmar Tours, thinks could help.
For years, the company she co-owns has helped people kick off the Christmas season in Washington State, with visits to the Bavarian-style village of Leavenworth.
“We do a horse-drawn sleigh ride and the lighting festival,” she said. “Around five o’clock, all the lights in Leavenworth light up all at once.”
Marshall said most of the travellers who come on the tour are seniors, and many have been regulars.
“To see their faces light up, it just warms you,” she said.
While the tour company had to skip its 2020 visit due to the pandemic, it began touring again this June, and is hoping to bring back the holiday season tradition with a visit across the border in December.
“Everyone on the bus will be fully vaccinated,” Marshall said. “If not twice, three times.”
She added the company also has a mask policy, and incorporates distancing and regular disinfection.
However, even with the border reopening to non-essential travel in early November, there is still uncertainty. Marshall is trying to figure out how she can get everyone on their tour bus a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) COVID-19 test during their visit.
A negative result is required within 72 hours of returning to Canada. People visiting the states for less than three days can conduct their pre-entry test in Canada before they leave the country. For the four-day trip Pitmar Tours has planned, the test will have to be done in the states.
“If it was a three-day tour, 72 hours, we could have had testing before we go and come back, which makes absolutely no sense,” she said. “Within 72 hours, that’s three days where you could still get (the virus), versus a rapid test.”
Brett Walker, chair of the Canadian Association of Tour Operators, said other countries have adopted the rapid or antigen test, which is “much more accessible” and “far less prohibitive.”
“We’re asking the government to at least think about, or offer that as an option,” he said. “Give Canadians – returning Canadians – the option of the antigen test, with a PCR test possibly here in Canada where they could quarantine at home.”
Walker said CATO would also like to see Canada change its current stance on not recommending non-essential travel, and continue wage and rent supports.
“We need to somehow bridge the gap between the now and when there will be any meaningful return to travel, which will probably be first, second quarter of next year,” he said.
When Pitmar Tours started travelling again in the summer, they also began requiring full vaccination, which Marshall says led to online and verbal attacks.
“I got horrible horrible threats,” she said. “They phoned and they would tell me I was a Nazi and I was out of my mind and they were going to sue me.”
The offensive backlash followed more than a year of not being able to travel, which also saw Pitmar refund over $60,000 for a planned trip to Palm Springs in spring 2020. Marshall said the critics even left negative online reviews for their company on Google, despite not being among their customers. She was able to contact the internet company to get the reviews removed.
Now, she’s just hoping to make the Leavenworth trip happen. Marshall has until mid-November to let the pre-booked hotels know whether the December trip will go ahead.
“It’s half full now, and everyone else is just waiting to see what the border restrictions are going to be,” she said. “It would mean a lot to get this trip going.”
Financially, she says it would help tide them over until the spring.
Christmas is also Marshall’s favourite time of year, and the trip gives her a chance to reconnect with a travel group she considers “part of the Pitmar family.”
“I sure hope we can do it this year for people,” she said. “They need a break.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Iran fires air defence batteries in provinces as explosions heard near Isfahan
Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning as explosions could be heard near a major air base near Isfahan, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike following Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
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.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.