Travel and Tourism Group Seeks Game Plan to End Restrictions

“Canada is in a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic – one marked by widespread vaccination and high levels of prior infection, and one which many Medical Officers of Health have called endemic,” the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable said in a statement today (Feb. 14).

“From Denmark and the United Kingdom to Switzerland, Ireland and Norway, many forward-thinking countries worldwide have recognized that the time has come to remove COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers. We believe Canada should do the same.”

The group said Canadians have done their part to battle the virus, and that it’s calling on the federal government “to lay out a plan with a clear timeline for removing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers and their children, including removing unnecessary pre-departure and on-arrival testing and isolation requirements and blanket travel advisories.”

“Travellers are subject to mandatory vaccination, as is the industry which serves them,” the roundtable said. “Our industry has been in lockstep with the government by prioritizing safety since the beginning of the pandemic – including through our strong support of vaccination.

“Since the pandemic’s start, only 1% of all cases of COVID-19 in Canada have been related to travel, and throughout the last wave, the test positivity rate in communities reached ten times what it was at our borders.

The group said strongly agrees with the government’s repeated statements that Canada’s COVID-19 policies should be based on science, “but there is no logical or scientific reason that travel should be singled out as the only activity that requires testing and isolation.”

“It’s time for the federal government to begin encouraging Canadians to travel and to invite the world to once again explore what our great country has to offer,” the roundtable said. 

“As provinces come out of lockdowns and with the spring and summer travel seasons on the horizon, we urgently request that the federal government allow the travel and tourism sector to reopen alongside all other sectors of the economy.”