The Canadian travel surge is here, and Canadians are booking trips around the world. Canadian agents say they’ve definitely seen a bump in requests since the federal government announced last week that, as of February 28, it would no longer require expensive PCR-style/molecular tests for people coming into Canada. Instead, Canadians and visitors will be able to show negative rapid antigen test results taken within 72 hours of their scheduled departure, or their arrival at a Canadian land border. “For sure removing the PCR Test was the catalyst. It was not only costly; it was time consuming running around trying Read more
travel agents
An influential group of Canadian travel agents is joining the chorus of those pushing for a change to Canada’s on-arrival PCR test program. “The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) and its travel and tourism advocacy partners call on the federal government to lift the mandatory arrival testing and quarantine requirement for fully-vaccinated, asymptomatic travelers so these tests can be used to support Canada’s domestic testing needs,” the group said in a statement today (Friday, Jan. 20). “It is important that the Government of Canada remove these temporary measures – as well as others introduced over the past two years– Read more
Powerful travel and tourism groups are welcoming passage of a Canadian government bill to aid the industry. The Canadian Parliament and Justin Trudeau government on Thursday passed Bill C-2, which provides further support to the industry in response to the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. The Coalition of the Hardest Hit Businesses said welcomes the passing of the bill for an industry that has been hit hard by border closures, travel bans, and the loss of international and domestic travellers. A survey of Coalition members earlier in the year found that up to 60% did not expect to make it through the Read more
Travel groups from across the globe are calling on government leaders around the world to provide dedicated financial support for travel reliant businesses and to lift travel bans as quickly as possible. The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), Association of South African Travel Agencies (ASATA), Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA) and World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAAA), collectively representing the hundreds of thousands of people who work at travel agencies and related businesses around the world, today (December 13) called on government leaders globally Read more
Canadian tourism and travel industry officials say new federal programs being introduced by the Trudeau government will be a big help. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday said the government’s main business support programs will end on Wednesday, Oct. 23, as Canada has already recovered 100% of the jobs lost during the pandemic. But she said the government recognizes that tourism and other businesses have been hit hard, and that Ottawa will bring in two new programs beginning on Thursday, Oct. 24. Those programs will provide wage and rent support for hotels, restaurants and travel agencies. Read more
