Maureen Gordon has weathered hard times before.
She and her husband began running ecotourism outfit Maple Leaf Adventures out of Vancouver about a month before the 9/11 terrorist attacks devastated international travel in 2001.
The rebound was relatively quick. Fallout from COVID-19 has proven much more prolonged.
B次元官网网址淭he pandemic of course was incredibly tumultuous and scary, as it was, I think, for most tour businesses in Canada,B次元官网网址� said Gordon, who runs week-long sojourns on a schooner, converted tug boat and catamaran along the Pacific coast.
B次元官网网址淚t was a really traumatic time. We couldnB次元官网网址檛 operate at all through various government shutdowns,B次元官网网址� she recalled. B次元官网网址淲e were scared, our bank was scared.B次元官网网址�
While 2022 was B次元官网网址渋ncredible,B次元官网网址� as Canadians looking to expend pent-up energy surged back to domestic travel, 2023 saw a B次元官网网址渉iccupB次元官网网址� amid rising interest rates that dampened some sojournersB次元官网网址� spirits.
B次元官网网址淎lthough the tourism industry B次元官网网址� in terms of interest in travel and booking B次元官网网址� is recovering, the businesses are really hurting,B次元官网网址� Gordon said. B次元官网网址淚 think all of us are carrying the highest debt loads weB次元官网网址檝e ever had. Certainly we are.
B次元官网网址淲e crossed the ocean out of our wrecked boat, and now B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檙e all just trying not to die on the beach.B次元官网网址�
Tourism has come roaring back from pandemic lows, but operators say the sector has yet to reach pre-COVID levels and debt remains a hefty burden for thousands of small businesses across the country.
International visitor numbers remained down from four years earlier, with tourists from the U.S. at 85 per cent of 2019 levels and those from further afield at 78 per cent, according to Crown corporation Destination Canada.
The industry brought in more than $109 billion in revenue last year, about four per cent more than in 2019 but significantly less in real terms after accounting for inflation, according to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.
Beth Potter, who heads the association, has called on the federal government to create a new low-interest loan program and temporary foreign worker stream, both specific to the tourism industry.
B次元官网网址淲e have not had any kind of indication that weB次元官网网址檙e going to see these,B次元官网网址� she noted. In fact, the government aims to reduce temporary residentsB次元官网网址� share of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 population over the next three years.
The impact wonB次元官网网址檛 be B次元官网网址渁s extremeB次元官网网址� in tourism as in agriculture or food processing, she said. But it will hit ski resorts as well as tourism-dependent areas such as Northern Canada and Niagara Falls, Ont.
Travel, hospitality and recreation offerings are effectively a perishable commodity, which means itB次元官网网址檚 especially hard to make back lost earnings.
B次元官网网址淚f you donB次元官网网址檛 book the hotel room tonight, you canB次元官网网址檛 book that hotel room two times tomorrow night,B次元官网网址� said Potter.
The sectorB次元官网网址檚 recovery continues to trail that of the broader business world. The number of active tourism-linked businesses sat slightly below pre-pandemic levels as of December, while the number of businesses overall surpassed 2019 figures, data from Destination Canada showed.
Across all sectors, two in three small- and medium-sized enterprises still held pandemic debt at the end of last year, with an average of $107,700, according to a Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey of 3,148 members. Out of 14 sectors surveyed, operators in hospitality and transportation were among the most pessimistic about the coming year. Only retail scored worse.
Ski operations and tourist hotspots such as the Okanagan Valley have had a particularly rough year.
B次元官网网址淲e had winters that werenB次元官网网址檛 winters for us,B次元官网网址� said Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada in a phone interview.
B次元官网网址淲e were really impacted last year with climate change in terms, fire, drought, floods,B次元官网网址� she continued. B次元官网网址淧eople were actually cancelling their travels to Canada because they were thinking that the whole country was on fire. Remember the smoke in New York?B次元官网网址�
While some tourism statistics for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 four largest cities B次元官网网址� Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary B次元官网网址� are now on track to overtake 2019 numbers, farther-flung parts of the country continue to struggle.
B次元官网网址淩egions a bit further away from those very big hubs had more difficulty to regain the momentum,B次元官网网址� the minister said. Business travel and conventions also continue to lag, she added.
Regional transport has failed to bounce back as well, with domestic seat capacity at 84 per cent of 2019 levels as of the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Destination Canada. That can dent domestic travel and leisure markets.
B次元官网网址淚f people want to go between Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland in the wintertime, when the ferry is not running, youB次元官网网址檇 have to fly to Toronto,B次元官网网址� said Potter, pointing to the deterrent.
The minister cited pledges laid out in the federal budget to support tourism. The government has vowed to provide new funding to replace Via RailB次元官网网址檚 aging fleet on routes outside the corridor running between Quebec City and Windsor, Ont. B次元官网网址� an amount has not yet been specified due to an upcoming procurement process.
Martinez Ferrada also highlighted $124 million for Atlantic ferry operations as well as investments in development opportunities in the North and for Indigenous tourism operations announced last year.
While no new sector-specific loans are on the horizon, she framed the $2.5 billion in carbon rebates slated to land in small- and medium-sized businessesB次元官网网址� bank accounts in the coming months as a financial buoy.
Back in Vancouver, Gordon said the year looks promising, with some caveats.
B次元官网网址淢ost people arenB次元官网网址檛 100 per cent confident in their projections,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not a straight-line recovery B次元官网网址� We all feel that the market is really unpredictable right now.
B次元官网网址淧eople in our industry are pretty passionate about what they do and pretty determined. ItB次元官网网址檚 not a doom-and-gloom story,B次元官网网址� she reflected.
B次元官网网址淏ut it is a story of huge struggle B次元官网网址� and maybe some of itB次元官网网址檚 unnecessary struggle B次元官网网址� and burden on a key industry that brings so much benefit to Canada and promotes our brand in the world.B次元官网网址�
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