It’s a move that will certainly spark renewed interest in Chinese visits to Canada, and Canadian visits to Asia. The Canadian government today (March 17) ended travel restrictions on passengers flying in from the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macao. That should provide a considerable boost for tourism in Western Canadian provinces, who rely on wealthy Chinese and Hong Kong residents for steady business, especially in the busy summer season. This means that there are no longer any federal COVID-19 border measures in place for Canada. And that’s quite something. “We welcome the removal of pre-departure test requirements Read more
Canadian tourism
The Toronto Star is reporting that the Justin Trudeau government may end Canada’s border vaccine mandate, and could scrap the heavily criticized ArriveCAN app. Star columnist Althia Raj reports that Ottawa is “considering turning the page on pandemic-era restrictions by ending the COVID-19 vaccination mandate at the border and scrapping random testing requirements.” Raj said the Trudeau cabinet hasn’t made a final decision, “but several sources confirmed ministers will soon weigh in on a move that could also spell the end of the unpopular ArriveCAN app.” Ending the vaccine mandate would allow visitors to flow freely into Canada, something that Read more
Canadian hotels are pretty much back to 2019 occupancy levels, and Google searches for Canada are higher than they were prior to the pandemic. Destination Canada’s quarterly report, issued today, finds that travel has strongly rebounded in the country. “Buoyed by hotel occupancy in regions exceeding their 2019 levels and lifts in urban areas closing in on their pre-pandemic performance, average hotel occupancy in June 2022 for Canada stood 1% below its 2019 level,” the report said. “Travel to Canada is in demand, with Google search from international markets exceeding 2019 levels.” Destination Canada said domestic air connectivity has improved Read more
Domestic leisure travel in Canada will soon be back to pre-pandemic levels, says a new report from Destination Canada. But international and domestic business travel aren’t expected to recover for a few more years. Here’s a synopsis of the report. As of spring 2022, with borders open to fully vaccinated travellers and health measures less restrictive in all parts of the country, revenues are forecast to grow to between $80 billion and $85 billion in 2022. Recovery will be uneven, with resort communities performing well, while rural and urban centres that are more dependent on international guests and business travellers Read more
With only a month left in the high summer season, Atlantic Canada is showing no great desire to let Canadians in from other provinces Meanwhile, a Florida marketing group is launching a new campaign to lure more visitors to the state. I also have news about a study that finds young people are dying to travel IMMEDIATELY, while older folks are quite timid about the idea. My Future of Travel blog for August 12. Atlantic Canada: We Quite Like Our Bubble, Thank You The Toronto Star, my former employer of 32 years, has a story this morning that suggests the Read more
