With an important barrier cast aside by the Trudeau government, Canadian and European tourism industry officials say they expect a huge travel rebound.
The Canadian government on Tuesday said it will eliminate the need for those coming into Canada to get costly, PCR-style or molecular testing. Instead, Canadians and visitors will be able to take a rapid antigen-style test within 24 hours of their scheduled flight to Canada or within 24 hours of their arrival at a land borer crossing.
“I am pleased to see the government of Canada make a wise choice,” said Paul Nursey, CEO for Destination Greater Victoria. “We are already seeing positive signals such as hesitant meeting planners with international delegates wish to turn their conference definite etc….”
“It’s time to really start recovering.”
“The new rules are a crucial step to relaunch travel to Europe for fully vaccinated Canadians,” said Pascal Prinz, Chair, European Travel Commission, Canada Chapter. “It means no more expensive PCR tests before the return flight but instead having more money to enjoy the trip. Rapid antigen tests are affordable, widely available in Europe and easy to get.”
A recent European Travel Commission study found that more than one-half of Canadian respondents shared interest in visiting European metropolitan areas, with France, Italy, the UK and Germany on top of their destination wish list.
David Green, Managing Director G Adventures, said the Canadian travel industry “can breathe a collective sigh of relief as it gets set to join other key tourism markets in loosening the border restrictions and requirements that have made international travel more difficult in the wake of Omicron.”
“While many people have continued to travel since the non-essential advisory was reinstated two months ago, there is a large segment of potential travellers who have been waiting for holidays to be made easier to take before committing to their long-awaited adventures,” Green said. “My advice to agents now is to buckle up; the best is yet to come. There is a ton of pent-up demand still waiting to be realized, which we are already seeing reflected in strong February sales results now lockdowns have been lifted.
“We only need to look across the pond to our colleagues in the United Kingdom – who in January celebrated their best month since the pandemic hit – to see what a huge difference the removal of PCR testing and travel advisories does for consumer sentiment,” he said.
Paris. Chris Karidis/Unsplash Photo
In an exclusive interview with Jim Byers Travel, Beth Potter, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, said she hopes to see Canada lift the rapid antigen test requirement in a couple weeks, which would be another big boost for would-be travellers.
“We really want to demonstrate that Canada is open for travel again,” she said.
Potter said there are certainly more travel inquiries coming in, and that there’s a bit of a surge for the summer. Some events also have been shuffled a month or two later into the year, which is far better than having a convention or business meeting cancelled altogether.
A study conducted a couple weeks ago, prior to the latest changes being announced, suggested that U.S. visitation to Canada won’t rebound to 2019 levels until 2026, Potter said.
“It’s not just testing that’s a barrier to travel, but it certainly starts with testing.”
Potter said her group is seeking clarification on the new rules for rapid antigen tests for people coming into Canada, as it was unclear from Tuesday’s briefing.
“We’re waiting for information in writing, but we’re told tests can be taken by pharmacies, such as a CVS in California.”
Potter said a Canadian government-approved remote test, such as those sold by Switch Health, also are allowed.
“The tests have to be conducted by an authority recognized by the local government (where a person is coming to Canada from) or by the Canadian government,” she said.
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