Seven in ten Canadians say airport delays across the country are a “national embarrassment,” while nearly 60% say they’re not travelling until the situation improves, says a new Ipsos poll. The embarrassment is bad for Canada’s image, but the idea that six in ten Canadians are avoiding travel right now is troublesome for a Canadian tourism and travel industry that’s just beginning to get back on its feet following a two-year-plus pandemic. The poll was conducted exclusively for Global News. “The poll definitely suggests there’s a lot of anger right now and uncertainty around travel,” Gregory Jack, vice-president of Ipsos Read more
Trudeau
The Trudeau government says the passport situation is improving, but there’s still work to do. “Canadians deserve access to timely, efficient, and transparent passport delivery services,” said Karina Gould, federal minister for Families, Children and Social Development. “We’re continuing to tackle big challenges in the passport program, and as the summer progresses, thanks to the hard work of Service Canada staff, we continue to see improvements in service delivery. “We are starting to put a dent in the backlog,” Gould said. “Last week, the number of passports issued was higher than at any point since before the pandemic, at 54,312. Read more
Canada’s airlines don’t appear to be following Air Canada’s lead on July and August flight cancellations. Spokepersons for both Air Transat and Porter Airlines told me today that they’re not looking to trim summer flights. WestJet put out a statement around 1 p.m. Eastern Time saying it has already trimmed back its schedule by roughly 20%. “We have been meticulously planning for summer operations and over the past few months have proactively reduced capacity to ensure we can deliver a stable operation,” WestJet officials said. “We have been very measured in our approach, and are currently scheduled to operate Read more
Tourism officials say Canada’s new vaccination rules are a good start, but that the government hasn’t gone nearly far enough to boost the travel industry. The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO), the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable and the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) put out statements saying more moves are needed. “As the pandemic has evolved and new tools have emerged to control the impact of COVID-19, TIAO has been advocating for government to remove barriers to travel,” officials said. “TIAO welcomes today’s announcement as an important step towards normalizing travel; it will help increase inter-provincial travel Read more
Toronto business leaders say urgent action from the Trudeau government in Ottawa is needed to fix the mess at Toronto Pearson Airport. Representatives from the Toronto Region Board of Trade, the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, AccorHotels, and the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies, came together today (May 12) to echo the Greater Toronto Airports Authority’s call to the federal government to urgently address government agency issues plaguing travellers at Toronto Pearson, Canada’s largest airport. The airport is facing mile-long lineups at customs and security the past couple weeks, and travellers are both frustrated and angry. Business leaders say the Read more
