New COVID-testing rules just 'one more hit' for pandemic-weary travel industry
CBC
After more than a year of cancelled plans and delayed trips, COVID-weary travellers and those in the tourism industry have been thrown for yet another loop after the federal government implemented new travel rules this week designed to keep a lid on the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant.
On Monday, Ottawa announced new rules requiring incoming air travellers from all countries except the United States to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival, regardless of whether they're vaccinated or not. And they'll also have to quarantine until their test results come back negative.
It's bad news for an industry that can scarcely afford it.
"It's one more hit to an industry that has been … significantly hit by the pandemic," said Statia Elliot, director of the School of Hospitality Food and Tourism Management at Guelph University.
She says that after policy makers were accused of being too slow to implement stricter travel and testing protocols in the early days of the pandemic, they are overcompensating by doing the opposite now and moving swiftly.
A look at the numbers shows how stark the impact of COVID-19 has been on travel. In October of 2019, before the pandemic, more than a quarter of a million people landed in Vancouver's airport from countries that were not the U.S.
A year later, in the depths of COVID-19, that figure shrank by more than 90 per cent to less than 17,000. This year, that figure had rebounded somewhat, to just shy of 70,000 people. And as of now, every single one of them will be subject to the new testing and quarantine regime.
The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), which represents the industry in Canada, says the new rules are wrongheaded and based on politics, not epidemiology.
"The federal government's recent announcement of molecular testing for all inbound travellers except those arriving from the United States is a concerning policy that impacts travel demand just before the holiday season," ACTA president Wendy Paradis said.
"As the federal government prepares its formal order, we are meeting with politicians and government decision-makers and imploring them to act on the best available science rather than political pressure."
It's too early to tell exactly what impact the new rules will have, but headed into the key holiday travel season, it won't be a positive one.
"Every time there's an additional step, like a test at the airport, [people] will think twice before they travel because of the hassle and because of the cost," Elliot said.
Canadian traveller Robyn Boar will certainly think twice before leaving home any time soon. The 18-year-old just returned home from a European trip.
"I was worried they were going to cut off all flights," Boar said. "I'm just happy to be back home in case things go south."
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