5 June 2020

Major Campaign to Save Canadian Tourism, Plus Re-Openings in Europe and Universal Florida

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada has launched a new plan to save Canadian tourism as we recover from COVID-19. There also are reports of a serious problem for Prince Edward Island visitation. My Future of Travel blog also looks at re-openings for Universal Orlando, Bologna and the Czech Republic.

New Plan to Save Canadian Tourism After COVID-19

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada has launched a major plan to help the country’s tourism sector. JIM BYERS PHOTO

I love seeing this, and I hope to heck it makes a difference to the Canadian tourism industry, which I’ve argued for years has been under-appreciated and under-served by a series of federal (and provincial) governments.

Here’s a statement I got today from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

With provinces advancing their reopening plans, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) today launched a broad, industry-developed recovery campaign that seeks sector-specific government support to ensure Canada has a tourism industry post-pandemic.

“Canada’s visitor economy was the first-hit and hardest-hit industry from the COVID pandemic, and will be one of the last to recover. That is why we’ve done the important work to put together a very detailed plan to present to government on what they can do to help support this important sector now and in the months to come to ensure that our industry is able to recover,” said Charlotte Bell, President and CEO of TIAC.

“Tourism and travel accounts for over 1.8 million jobs in Canada – that’s nearly 1 in every 10,” Bell said. “Since the onset of the pandemic, over 800,000 jobs in our sector have been lost and many will never return without critical recovery support.”

As Canada’s fifth largest sector, the visitor economy contributes over $102 billion to Canada’s economy on an annual basis, and accounts for over 2% of GDP. Pre-pandemic, the visitor economy was an important economic engine, including a meetings and conventions sector contributing more than $30 billion to the economy. In 2019, Canada welcomed a record 22.1 million international visitors and was on a trajectory of growth. The tourism recovery plan launched today outlines recommendations and proposals for government that span from immediate to longer-term proposals.

“The tourism sector will not rebound as quickly as other sectors,” explained Bell. “The federal government has spent a considerable amount of energy investing in growing our sector before the onset of the virus, including rolling out a new Tourism Growth Strategy in the 2019 federal budget and appointing tourism as Canada’s 7th Economic Strategy Table. Canada cannot afford to lose the tourism industry.”

While current support measures are welcomed and appreciated, they all have expiry dates that will not meet the unique situation of the sector long-term.

“Without tourists or local visitors, the tourism industry has grinded to a complete halt and the industry’s more-than 200,000 businesses are facing a dire situation as we enter what should have been the start of Canada’s peak-tourism season,” added Bell. “While programs like the CEWS and the CERB have been helpful, long-term liquidity is key because most of our sector’s businesses are losing out on an entire year’s worth of revenue that is typically earned during the peak travel season between May and September. The recently announced $70 million for tourism in redirected funds to support domestic marketing initiatives and a number of regional destination marketing organizations is a step in the right direction. Our recovery proposal launched today outlines the additional support needed for long-term recovery of the sector.”

The actions taken to curb COVID-19 such as the closure of Canada’s borders to international visitors, suspension of international flights around the world, and the shutdown of convention centres, attractions, restaurants and entertainment venues have disproportionally impacted the tourism and travel industry. The almost total halt of tourism activity resulting in massive job losses, hotel closures and precipitous cancellations of events of all kinds will stretch for years to come.

“We are ready to engage in meaningful dialogue with Government on how we can collaborate on reopening the visitor economy and ensure support for a recovery period that will last longer for this sector,” said Bell.

Tough Tourism Numbers in Canada’s Maritimes

The East End Lighthouse on PEI is a beauty. It’s a relatively easy climb to the top. JIM BYERS PHOTO

I hate this COVID-19 situation. It’s simply hurting far too many good people, not only seniors in our long-term health care facilities who deserve FAR better attention, but also restaurants and businesses and hotels and their loyal employees in Canada and around the world. As anyone who knows me can attest, the Canadian Maritimes and Newfoundland are perhaps my favourite part of the country. The people are warm and friendly and welcoming, the food is great, the beaches go on forever, and there are tons of quirky/unusual things to see and do.

Prince Edward Island is a particular fave, with not one but TWO villages made entirely out of discarded wine bottles, not to mention an entertaining and tasty potato museum, funky lighthouses and fine resorts such as The Inn at Bay Fortune, run by celebrity chef Michael Smith. PEI relies heavily on tourism, but there are some reports that say visitation this year may reach only 24% of 2019 levels.

Cruise ships have already pulled out for the year. And now there are potential problems with having folks come in from Ontario, Quebec or other parts of Canada.

The PEI Guardian has a story on the tourism outlook for this year. I can only pray that this is a worst-case scenario.

Montreal Joins Sustainability Group

Old Montreal is especially magical at dusk. JIM BYERS PHOTO

Montréal – host of World Environment Day 2020 – has become the first Canadian city to join the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index). The destination now forms part of the global destination sustainability movement, that seeks to engage, inspire and enable urban centers to become more regenerative places to visit, meet and thrive in. The GDS-Index is delighted that Montréal has chosen such a significant day to announce its membership of the global performance improvement program.

Initiated by Tourisme Montréal, a private, non-profit organization that plays a leading role in the management and development of Montréal’s tourism offer, the initiative will:

Benchmark the sustainability performance of Montréal, in tourism, meetings and events
Support the development of a sustainability strategy for Tourisme Montréal, that reunites the city’s key stakeholders behind a bold initiative
Increase awareness of, and integrate, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals into the events and visitor economy
Inspire clients to prize destinations with solid event sustainability initiatives
Share the responsible business initiatives and regenerative practices of Tourisme Montréal with their clients, peers, and the world

Bologna, Italy Re-opens

Bologna is a great city for exploring on foot, with lovely covered arcades and some of Italy’s best food. JIM BYERS PHOTO

As of June 3 – after three months of closure – the Bologna tourist office in Piazza Maggiore is open to visitors again. Also eXtraBo – the tourist office that shines the spotlight on the entire metropolitan territory in addition to Bologna’s green landscapes, is back to business as usual. For the occasion, they’ve prepared a brief guide with tips and suggestions that might be useful to you to experience Bologna safely. You also can visit Bologna Welcome’s completely renovated website to stay up to date on what’s happening in the city.

I had a marvellous visit three or four years ago. The ancient streets are a wonderful mishmash of building styles, and the food is to die for; especially the local ham, local cheeses and, of course, Spaghetti Bolognese.

Czech Republic Slowly Re-Opening

Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. One of the prettiest villages I’ve ever run across. – JIM BYERS PHOTO

Czech Republic tourism sent me a note today to say they’re slowly moving forward with re-opening. But it doesn’t look like North Americans will be heading to Prague or other Czech destinations anytime soon.

As of June 15th, EU citizens will be able to travel between some countries with fewer restrictions. For the Czech Republic, this includes Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Cyprus, Switzerland, Baltic States, Norway, and Iceland. Citizens from the above mentioned countries will be allowed to the Czech Republic without having to present a negative COVID-19 test. Travel with fewer restrictions could also expand to other European countries later in the summer, and possibly even international tourism this year. You can find updates on the rules of movement at the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. All regulations are, of course, subject to the continued containment and management of the virus.

Tagged as: Florida, Orlando, PEI, theme parks, Tourism Industry Association of Canada, Universal Orlando

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