Today is a day to celebrate for Canadian travellers, and for anyone wishing to visit Canada. But it’ll be even better two weeks from now.
The Canadian government today (March 17) announced that mandatory border tests for fully vaccinated residents and visitors will be dropped as of April 1.
That means Canadians can travel out of the country and not have to worry about finding an expensive COVID-19 test. They also don’t have to worry that they’ll be denied entry to the country because of a positive test result.
It also means foreign visitors can avoid pricey tests and the worry of testing positive.
It promises to be a major boon for airlines and tour companies that sell Canadians on trips to Europe, the sunny south, and other destinations. It also should go a long way to improving numbers for Canadian tour operators, hotel owners and restaurateurs. That’s especially true in big cities, which have been decimated by two years of a pandemic that has rocked the world.
Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos today said random airport testing will continue, and that travellers will still have to fill out an ArriveCAN app before entering the country. Duclos said fully vaccinated travellers who are randomly tested will not have to quarantine while awaiting their results.
Fully vaccinated travellers seeking to arrive in Canada before April 1, 2022, must still have a valid pre-entry test, government officials said in a press release.
Duclos said those who are partly vaccinated or un-vaccinated will have to take a PCR or molecular-style test upon arrival and again on day eight of their 14-day quarantine period.
Passengers on cruise ships coming to Canada will need to take a rapid antigen test no more than one day before departure, but won’t have to be tested before getting off the cruise ship, said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Air Canada hailed the announcement.
“Today’s announcement by the federal government is excellent news for the entire travel and tourism industry, which are important contributors to the Canadian economy,” said David Rheault, Vice-President, Government and Community Relations at Air Canada. “People are eager to travel and reconnect with their loved ones, and the end of pre-departure testing will provide travellers with more certainty, allowing them to plan their next trip with more confidence and without the worry of incurring additional costs.”
“Canada now joins other countries around the world in reopening and we look ahead to the summer travel season. The removal of pre-departure testing requirements will continue to accelerate and stimulate the recovery of Canada’s travel and tourism industry, which we are committed to help rebuild through the restoration of our global network,” Rheault said.
Oddly enough, Canada is easing testing requirements, but the U.S. still requires anyone heading to the States BY AIR to provide a negative test result. The U.S. accepts rapid antigen tests, but those can still be a hassle for would-be visitors to the land of Uncle Sam.
It’s time that changed, New York state Congressman Brian Higgins said today in a letter to President Joe Biden that was posted on his website. Higgins said it’s time for both governments to drop ALL border barriers.
“I applaud the news that most travelers entering Canada will not need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test as of April 1. I write to assert the need for the United States to go one step further and consider the elimination of current vaccination requirements for all travelers at land ports of entry, which inhibit cross-border travel, the flow of commerce, and create an unnecessary barrier to the eventual resumption of pre-pandemic cross-border activity.”
“After a challenging two years, we all want the Canadian economy, including the tourism sector, to rebound and grow,” said Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, who also serves as Associate Minister of Finance. “The economy, workers and tourism business owners will benefit from this next step in opening Canada up once again to the world.”
“Urban destinations have been hit especially hard by the pandemic and will have a longer road back to recovery,” said Andrew Weir, Executive Vice President, Destination Toronto. “Toronto’s visitor economy relies on a diverse mix of visitors – domestic and international travel, business and leisure travel. Improving access and removing barriers to travel is an essential first step toward bringing back all the customer segments needed for our economy to thrive.”
“We commend the Government of Canada’s decision to remove the pre-departure testing requirement for fully vaccinated travellers effective April 1, 2022,” said Sunwing Travel Group. “Today’s announcement comes as welcome news for the travel industry, which has weathered a difficult two years due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The lifting of testing requirements will be a boon to Canadian tourism operators, as well as to outbound travel groups and airlines seeking to fly Canadians to Europe and other popular destinations.
Countries around the world have been lifting regulations. Ireland no longer requires travellers to even fill out an on-line form prior to arrival.
As of today, the U.S. still requires anyone coming into the States to provide a negative result from a COVID-test taken within a day of their travel. Rapid antigen tests have been accepted by the U.S. throughout the pandemic.
“The elimination of the costly and unnecessary pre-arrival testing requirement for fully vaccinated Canadian travellers has been an advocacy priority of the CSA,” said Karen Huestis, president of the Canadian Snowbird Association. “The Canadian Snowbird Association is pleased that the federal government is finally acting on this recommendation to revise the entry requirements and adopt a science-based approach to testing.”
The change is welcome news, just in time for the tourist season, said Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable.
“We’ve seen the collapse of our international tourism and convention business over the course of the last two years, and were on the cusp of losing the summer tourist season as well,” Beatty told Canadian Press.
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada said it’s encouraged by the news.
“Our industry was the first hit, the hardest hit, and will be the last to recover from the global pandemic,” said Beth Potter, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. “We are hopeful this will effectively lay the foundation for the recovery of Canada’s tourism industry, which has a long way to go to rebuild itself back to the $105 billion economic powerhouse it was pre-pandemic.
“Canada is one of the most vaccinated, safest countries in the world to travel to, and we look forward to welcoming both business and leisure travellers,” she said.
“As we have now removed a significant border barrier to travel, the government must now focus its efforts on ensuring Canada’s financial support programs are properly aligned to help operators get back on their feet. The Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program’s subsidy rate was cut in half just a few days ago, at a time when most operators are still facing crushing revenue losses and massive debt. For tourism operators to survive through the summer and be positioned to recover, the THRP’s subsidy rate must be fully reinstated and extended until the end of August at earliest,” Potter said.
Up until Feb. 28, travellers entering Canada were required to present proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR or molecular-style test taken within three days of their flight or arrival at the country’s border. The government in late February began allowing cheaper rapid antigen tests taken within a day of arrival, but tourism officials said that was still too big a barrier for potential visitors.
“Adjustments to Canada’s border measures are made possible by a number of factors, including Canada’s high vaccination rate, the increasing availability and use of rapid tests to detect infection, decreasing hospitalizations and growing domestic availability of treatments for COVID-19,” Duclos said. “As vaccination levels and healthcare system capacity improve, we will continue to consider further easing of measures at the borders—and when to adjust those measures—to keep the people in Canada safe.”
